Officials got cleanout call right
Former Test referee Wayne Barnes says the match officials made the correct decision in the build-up to the British & Irish Lions’ match- and series-winning try in Melbourne.
Winger Hugo Keenan’s 79th-minute effort sealed the three-Test series for the tourists – with one match still to play – and broke Australian hearts.
But the Wallabies were left fuming when referee Andrea Piardi, after watching the incident on the big screen and consulting with assistant referees Ben O’Keeffe and Nika Amashukeli, ruled that Lions replacement flank Jac Morgan had not committed foul play when cleaning out Wallaby Carlo Tizzano at a ruck seconds before the try was scored.
Another look at the cleanout.
Again, perfectly good. #Lions2025pic.twitter.com/3dKi9mVIEw
— Tight Five Rugby (@TightFive_Rugby) July 26, 2025
Writing in his column for The Telegraph, Barnes praised the match officials for making a clear on-field decision without defaulting to the TMO.
“When the team of officials met in the middle of the pitch to discuss the match-defining incident, with 90,000 spectators listening to every word, Piardi began by explaining that Jac Morgan and Carlo Tizzano arrived at the same time.
“O’Keeffe added to the dramatic discussion that ‘it was dynamic’ and Morgan was ‘wrapping’. Piardi then summarised the thoughts of all three – ‘It’s play-on for us.’
“When Piardi announced the decision over the stadium PA system – a great addition to international rugby, by the way – there was a deluge of noise at the MCG. And there was also a sense of relief on my sofa.
“Dan Biggar, on Sky Sports commentary, asked: ‘Where could he go?’ and when Ronan O’Gara was asked what he was seeing, he replied quickly: ‘Very little.’
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“I couldn’t have agreed more with the two ex-internationals. Rugby is a dynamic game with lots of moving parts and yes, player safety is at the heart of everything the game is currently doing, but these things happen. It’s worth re-emphasising that every time there is head contact, it does not mean there is foul play.”
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