The party might be on hold in Mynyddcerrig, but that won’t keep Nigel Owens from answering your questions and taking a look at the most contentious decisions from the past week.
Unsurprisingly, this week’s Whistle Watch is dominated by events from last Saturday night in Paris, where Wales came up just short in their quest for the Six Nations Grand Slam.
Wayne Pivac and his squad now face an anxious wait to discover whether they will be crowned tournament winners as France prepare to host Scotland in the final match of the Championship on Friday.
“Poor old Wales, eh?” Owens said. “I am still deflated. But, oh, what a game, it had everything.
“Probably one of the best Six Nations games I've seen for a long, long time.”
Watch episode seven of Whistle Watch above and be sure to check the official World Rugby YouTube channel every Wednesday for the latest instalment.
Penalty try?
On this week’s show, Owens has picked out four crucial decisions from Les Bleus’ nail-biting 32-30 victory at Stade de France to investigate.
First up, he examines the Welsh attack that resulted in Louis Rees-Zammit’s acrobatic attempted finish and calls for a penalty try.
“I have to say I thought the officiating team of Luke Pearce, Wayne Barnes and the other two assistant referees did a great job under a huge amount of pressure,” Owens said.
“Louis Rees-Zammit no-try, what an attempt to finish a try. Because the ball touched the bottom of the post and the touch-in-goal line before touching the ground to score the try, it means that the try doesn't stand.”
On the potential penalty try, he added: “In this instance we see the maul going at a rate of knots, great drive by Wales, going towards the try line.
“The French player then enters illegally from the side and then disrupts that maul, causing it to splinter off and then no try being scored and advantage from Luke Pearce.
“I believe a try would have probably been scored if it wasn't for the actions of the French player, so in this instance I believe a penalty try should have been awarded.”
‘Harsh yellow card’
Owens backed Pearce’s decision to show Paul Willemse a red card for his clear-out of Wyn Jones, because “it does look like the hands are in contact with the eye”.
But, the Rugby World Cup 2015 final referee did not think that Wales should have been reduced to 13 men in the closing stages when Liam Williams was sent to the sin-bin.
“We have to remember the referee can't go to the TMO to check here,” Owens said. “For me, this is a bit of a harsh yellow card and even a harsh penalty, because I feel Liam Williams has got to his feet.
“Dupont has lifted the ball off the floor, which means now that tackle-ruck area is over, so as long as you're onside and on your feet you are now quite entitled to tackle Dupont.”
Whatever your opinion of events on the pitch during the Six Nations 2021, Owens urged fans to be civil on social media because players and officials “do their best on the field so that we, the supporters, can enjoy this wonderful game”.
“Please be kind, be respectful and there's no need for this online abuse,” he added.
