'The only guys off their feet were Glasgow,' said the Bulls coach, adding that he would seek clarity from the URC referees as to why such a decision was not reviewed.
Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann said he was “flabbergasted” that a referee’s decision to award Glasgow a penalty try and send a Bulls player to the sin bin was not double-checked during his side’s 21-12 loss to Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium on Friday night.
The Bulls were leading 12-7 after 60 minutes and appeared to be on course to win their United Rugby Championship fixture when Springboks Kurt-Lee Arendse and Willie le Roux linked up for a beautiful try. However, it was overturned for an earlier knock-on.
What followed was an unreviewed incident that sucked all momentum from the visiting side, as they went on to lose their second match in the tournament.
‘The big swing in the game’
With Glasgow on the attack in the 64th minute, referee Craig Evans ruled that Francois Klopper had played off his feet in a maul, awarding a penalty try and handing the player a yellow card.
The Bulls struggled to launch attacks after this, and failed to keep Glasgow from scoring their third try while still a man down.
“The big swing in the game was the penalty try,” Ackermann said on Saturday. “We’ll get some clarification on that because the footage we’ve got, and we’ve looked at it over, and I begged Ruan [Nortjé] to ask the referee, but they seem to only go back when it’s knocks and not when it’s big decisions like that.”
“The only guys off their feet were Glasgow. Francois Klopper was standing right in the middle on his feet in the maul. So to make a big call like that without referring it, without being certain.
“It just flabbergasts me in this modern game that we’ve got the technology and we’re willing to make calls like that on the spur of the moment. But we’ve got time after we make a goal-kick to go back to a knock…”
Ackermann: Bulls deserved a losing bonus point
The Bulls coach said the decision left him with a “hollow feeling”. He felt the game was much closer than the scoreline reflected.
“I say this with respect, I don’t think they were nine points better than us. 14-12 might have been a kinder reflection.”
He said his team defended well at times, conceding the fewest points they have in five matches.
“The big thing is we lost the possession and territory battle for the third week in a row. That’s something we need to fix urgently.
“And to still be in the game until a decision like that, I am very proud of the way we stepped up. But obviously it’s still a loss and there is a lot of work to be done.”
