Everyone has seen it. Except one: the referee. And that’s the problem. Upon returning from the locker room, the XV of France was surprised, as at the start of the match, by New Zealand. Three short minutes after play resumed, the All Blacks planted the second try of the match, scored by Mark Telea. However, the five additional points granted to the team of Ian Foster perhaps should not have been. The reason, an obvious forward on the last pass, which only the man in yellow did not see.
However, by dissecting the images of the broadcaster (TF1), we realize that the last pass from Rieko Ioane (image 1) ended its race in front of its starting point (image 2). Damian Penaud and Thomas Ramos even slowed down their run, thinking that Jaco Peyper was going to stop the action. It did not happen. Mark Telea went to flatten unopposed.
Another angle offered by TF1 shows that the ball was thrown by the opening half of the Blacks around 30m tricolor, while the winger recovered it just in front of the 22m line. Surprisingly, and under the bronca of the Stade de France, Jaco Peyper did not even use the video.
It must be said that the rule of the forward pass established by World Rugby states that such a situation is when “a player throws or passes the ball forward, that is to say if the movement of the arms of the player who passes the ball is forward.” The movement of Ioane’s pass seems flat (if not really backwards).