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Cape Town - Wales’ head coach Warren Gatland was irritated by the decision not to award his side a try in the first half of their Six Nations game against England.
The Red Dragons were trailing 12-0 when Gareth Anscombe appeared to ground the ball ahead of Anthony Watson, but the television match official disagreed.
TMO Glenn Newman decided that Anscombe did not apply downward pressure as the visitors were denied a potentially game-changing score.
Despite getting back into the contest with two penalties, the away team eventually lost by six points and Gatland was adamant that the try should not have been disallowed.
“It looked like a try to me,” he said. “It is disappointing that you get that decision wrong.
“It is a pivotal moment in the game. The TMO has one big call to make and he has made a terrible mistake. At this level it is pretty disappointing. Not to be given what we thought was a legitimate try was a massive moment.
“I struggled with the wording (from the TMO). He said that England got there first and there was no downward pressure from Wales. I saw that differently.
“There was clearly downward pressure and, at this level, in front of 82,000 people, when there is a lot at stake, you have to get those decisions right.”
The result ended Wales’ chances of potentially claiming a third Grand Slam under Gatland and also severely dented their title aspirations.
England, meanwhile, remain unbeaten and their boss Eddie Jones believes that the TMO got the decision correct.
“I have never made a comment on a TMO,” Jones said. “It is one part of the game that has done really well in rugby.
“We have a guy up there that is a referee. He has got time to make a decision, and if he can't make the right decision then what do we do? I allow him to make the decisions. He made the decision and we get on with it.”
