Alan Gilpin addresses furore over clearout call at World Rugby event in Sydney

World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin has confirmed that the governing body will be supporting its match officials following the controversial clear-out decision at the end of the second British & Irish Lions Test in Melbourne.

A decision not to penalise Jac Morgan for a clear-out in the lead-up to Hugo Keenan’s match-winning try has split rugby fans—largely along the lines of whether you were supporting the Wallabies or the Lions.

Gilpin, who was speaking at the launch of the Rugby World Cup Ticketing Programme for the 2027 tournament, said that World Rugby would be supporting its match officials.

“Emotions understandably run very high with a compelling and fiercely contested match, such as the one we saw going right down to the wire,” said Gilpin.

“In those tight contests, decisions made in crucial moments inevitably draw a lot of scrutiny, and while World Rugby has stated that we do not publicly comment on match officials’ decisions or performance, given the nature of the commentary surrounding last weekend, I just wanted to express our support for the team of match officials involved.

“There is no other position on the field that is under the scrutiny that our match officials are under, yet they do an incredible job under incredible pressure in a very hard environment.

“I think it’s fair to say that when referee groups are reviewing decisions—and they do review decisions, they review with the coaches, they review them across the game—we are always proud to support our match officials as part of that process, and that’s what we are doing now and in the coming days with our colleagues in Rugby Australia. So suffice to say we won’t be taking any further questions.”

Over 2.5 million tickets will be available for what will likely be the largest and best-attended Rugby World Cup in history. World Rugby are directing fans to register their interest via the Rugby World Cup website.