J.J. Harmse

Pretoria - The nature of the scrum infringement is something that referees in SANZAR ranks have been policing for two seasons, but the execution by Bryce Lawrence in Saturday's playoff match between the Crusaders and Sharks was a one-off and probably a "brain explosion".

That was the view of South African referees manager André Watson on Monday when asked about a penalty awarded against the Sharks - even prior to the engagement in the scrum.

The decision has raised serious questions about the performance of Lawrence, who will also be in charge of the final.

Watson said that it could not be denied that Lawrence had made a mistake.

"We have been trying for the past two seasons to penalise teams in the scrums that deliberately shift the point of contact.

"It's usually the defensive scrum that moves slightly to the side and tries to prevent the attacking scrum from getting a right shoulder. That is what Lawrence wanted to do."

According to Watson, Lawrence's reference to "dangerous play" was absurd.

"I don't know why he used those words, but it was incorrect and did not make sense. I'm also not sure whether the Sharks would have shifted on their own throw-in.

"So I'm not sure why Lawrence arrived at that conclusion. It was poor communication by Lawrence. Period."

Watson still believes that Lawrence is the right man to handle the final.

"Bryce is highly-rated by coaches in the Super Rugby tournament. This year we used their input with that of our own selectors to determine who the referees would be in the playoffs. He had a good year and we should not let one and a half poor decisions detract from that."

Former referee and journalist Paul Dobson also wrote on the website rugby365.com that Lawrence's interpretation left much to be desired.

He also slammed the referee's interpretation at that scrum.

Watson believes that Dobson's criticism was justified.

"The aspect where a front row deliberately shifts is something that referees can manage. He could have warned the front row and allowed the scrum to form again.

"A penalty in the seventh minute of the game, with such a poor explanation of why the penalty is being awarded, is not good enough."