'Gutted' Joe Schmidt makes feelings clear over match-deciding call

Joe Schmidt believes that Hugo Keenan’s last-gasp series-winning try should have been disallowed and that the Wallabies should be travelling to Sydney with it all to play for at Stadium Australia next Saturday.

Schmidt says that he thought Keenan’s try, which clinched a 29-26 win for the Lions, should have been ruled out by referee Andrea Piardi for an illegal clear-out by Jac Morgan on Carlo Tizzano in the build-up.

The Wallabies boss says that he has watched the incident from a series of angles and that he is convinced that the Italian official made a mistake in awarding the controversial try.

“Just watch the footage,” he said. “You just have to read law 9.20 and you just have to listen to the description from the referee and then watch the footage when two players are described as arriving at the same time.

“You cannot hit someone above the level’s of the shoulders, and there’s no bind with the left arm. His hand is on the ground. That’s what we have seen. We have watched a number of replays from different angles, so it is what it is.

“We just have to accept it. Players make errors. Match officials make errors.

Schmidt admits that he was “absolutely gutted” to lose a game that they looked favourites to win after leading 23-5 in the first half before the tourists staged a revival which won them the game.

“I didn’t think we were that bad last week. I know people reported it as such, but it was three tries each. We clawed our way back into the game, and this one I felt that we really had the game to challenge them.

“We demonstrated that when we built the lead, but they are a really good side. The experience they have just allowed them to stay calm and execute their game. It was a heck of a test match, and we are absolutely gutted,” he added.