The British and Irish Lions went 1-0 up in the test series on Saturday in a match that was not without its contentious moments.
One such moment came in the 63rd minute of the match when Hamish Watson executed a tip tackle on Willie le Roux after Le Roux had just come down from taking a high ball.
The matchday referee Nic Berry said that it was just a penalty and would not go to the TMO, who was the much-debated South African Marius Jonker.
The incident would result in Le Roux going off injured, while Handre Pollard missed the kick that would have brought South Africa back into the lead.
Speaking to Off The Ball after the match, former Lions captain Brian O’Driscoll and former Ireland flanker Alan Quinlan discussed the incident, suggesting that Watson was lucky to remain on the field.
“He was very lucky to stay on the field,” Quinlan said. “I think Nic berry had a good game, but I think they are trying to not get the TMO in if they don’t have to.
“I think if Willie le Roux doesn’t put out his hand and lets himself come down on his shoulder and the side of his head, it would have definitely been a yellow.
“I think he is very, very lucky that it wasn’t a yellow, and again it was a big moment. It was pretty silly, he gets away with it.
“Nic Berry is very close to the action, and he said there was no force and no drive into the ground, but it was a big risk, and it could have easily been a yellow card for him.”
The match was full of possibly-contentious calls, with two South African tries being ruled out by the TMO, while the try that was scored was also awarded by the TMO.
O’Driscoll believed that, of the possible fifty-fifty calls, the Watson one definitely went in favour of the Lions when it shouldn’t have.
“Looking at the replays here… there was some pretty contentious stuff as well,” O’Driscoll said.
“We knew that the TMO was going to be called into play. I have to say that Hamish Watson, I am just watching the replay here again, that is a yellow card all day!
“He has lifted his one leg right above horizontal. If he doesn’t get his left arm down there, he hits the ground with his ball carrying right arm and head, that is a red card.
“I don’t know how that is not a yellow card; it is very fortuitous for Hamish Watson and the Lions.
“But, you have got to ride your luck as well, and you are going to need that if you are going to win test matches in South Africa as well.”
Catch every moment of the British and Irish Lions series on Off The Ball, with live commentary from the likes of Brian O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara, Keith Wood, Alan Quinlan and more throughout the test series.
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