Nigel Owens has his say on the Jac Morgan clear-out
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Former referee Nigel Owens has weighed in on the Jac Morgan clear-out debate that has made headlines since Australia’s defeat to the Lions in the second Test.
Speaking after the game, Australia head coach Joe Schmidt said you have to ‘read law 9.20’ to understand why it should have been a penalty.
“Law 9.20 states: “A player must not charge into a ruck or maul without binding onto another player.”
“It also states that “making contact above the line of the shoulders with an opponent is a dangerous play and is prohibited.”
But Owens says we also have to recognise that both players “were low coming into the ruck.”
“It was the perfect clear-out,” Owens told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.
“Law 9.20 states: “A player must not charge into a ruck or maul without binding onto another player.
“It also states that “making contact above the line of the shoulders with an opponent is a dangerous play and is prohibited.
“I know some people in Australia are quoting the law and saying he is going in low.
“But if you are quoting the law you have to recognise both players were low coming into the ruck.”
Owens says there are a lot of so-called ‘experts’ on social media who think they know what they are talking about.
“There are a lot of experts on social media and a lot of pundits who think they are experts at refereeing as well,” said Owens.
“There are a couple of things you need to judge here. First of all, are Jac Morgan’s actions legal? Is he coming in low and are the arms out ready to wrap and clear out?
“If he wasn’t doing that and leading with his shoulder then you have foul play and a penalty.
“His actions are perfect in the way you would expect a player to clean out.”
“There is a chance the Australia player who has come into the ruck has not come through the gate but that’s irrelevant in the outcome because if there was foul play it would trump that,” said Owens.
“The Australia player gets in and he is very low. This happens throughout the game and you see many of these incidents.
“Jac goes in and tries to get in very low or underneath him to clear him out. So it’s textbook clearing out for me.
“The only time this would be illegal is if the Australian player was in that position and Jac was a couple of seconds later arriving and he had time to readjust, then there would be conversations about foul play.
“Because it is relatively dynamic, as the referee has explained, both of them are pretty much there simultaneously.
“The Australian player gets there a split second before, but Jac is already coming in with a legal clearout, so there is no foul play.”
