With a monumental upset seemingly only seconds away on Sunday, referee Craig Joubert blew his whistle and awarded a penalty against Scotland, Europe’s last remaining hope in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
Bernard Foley then calmly guided his kick between the uprights to give Australia a 35-34 win, in a match they had been expected to dominate, to complete the set of southern hemisphere semi-finalists following weekend wins by New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina over northern hemisphere rivals.
The thunderous booing echoing around Twickenham drowned out the standing ovation that Scotland deserved. Joubert departed hastily, sparking savage criticism from fans on social media and former Test players, including Scotland great Gavin Hastings.
Photo: Reuters
It was that kind of week for Scotland, who had been given very little chance of beating the Wallabies. Scotland placed last in the Six Nations, and only narrowly held off Samoa last weekend to secure second spot in Pool B. Forwards Ross Ford and Jonny Gray were banned for three weeks for a dangerous tackle against Samoa, but reinstated at the last minute after winning appeals.
A second-half yellow card for winger Sean Maitland for a 50-50 decision on a deliberate knock-on — ruled on by the television match official — was also costly.
“It’s very hard to take. It’s a very upset dressing room,” said Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw, who kicked 19 points. “We were one kick away from being in the semi-finals, and arguably we should have been there.”
Photo: Reuters
After falling behind in the ninth minute, then taking the lead in the 18th and hanging on to a 16-15 buffer at the break, Scotland fell behind when Australia scored a fourth try — soon after Maitland left for the sin bin — and later trailed by eight points with 15 minutes to go before another comeback.
In all, Scotland conceded five tries to Australia, and crossed for three themselves — including Mark Bennett’s intercept that gave Scotland a 34-32 lead with five minutes remaining.
The blue scrum was on top of an Australia pack that earned accolades for its performances against England and Wales, and the back row pilfered turnover ball and forced mistakes from the Wallabies.
“The spirit of our side is unbreakable at times and that’s the spirit we’ve had throughout the tournament,” Laidlaw said.
“We’re a tight-knit group and there are no egos,” he added.
When it started to rain in the last 10 minutes, the chants of “Scotland, Scotland” intensified, giving the sense that in the wet the Wallabies were as good as beaten.
However, then came the last lineout, deep in Scotland territory, in the 79th minute. The ball was tapped loose after a long throw, and was knocked forward from a Scotland player, apparently touching Australia’s replacement scrumhalf Nick Phipps in the scramble for possession, before it was grabbed by Scotland front-rower Jon Welsh.
Joubert ruled Welsh offside, within easy kicking range for Foley, who missed all three conversion attempts in the first half, and the Australia flyhalf nailed it in the 80th to secure a spot in the semi-finals next weekend against Argentina.
“I think you can see from the way he was taking his time ... he was certainly having a look at the big screen and wasn’t sure himself,” Laidlaw said of Joubert’s contentious decision. “Then he made a sharp exit at the end of the game.”
There was no option to refer it to the televised match official, who can only adjudicate on tries or acts of foul play.
Scotland head coach Vern Cotter said he would have to review the game before commenting on the decision.
“I feel for these guys. They stayed in the game and I’m proud of them as men and as rugby players,” Cotter said. “It’s a tough one to take.”
Australia head coach Michael Cheika said if scoring five tries and winning in the last minute was considered a great escape, it did not bother him.
“You have to live with the ones you get and the ones you don’t,” he said of the late penalty. “It is what it is and you just deal with it.”
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