Ref should have given Ireland a penalty try but Henshaw can count himself lucky

It was won at a canter.

If Willie Mullins saddled a favourite that won without having to raise a ferocious gallop down the home straight, he’d be mightily pleased. And so should Ireland be. They won very easily, the final scoreline of 32-18 was actually misleading.

The new goalline drop out law continues to annoy. Ireland were held up over the line several times, with Scotland being handed possession to then belt the ball downfield. It’s far too big a reward for the defence.

The home team did score a magnificent try by the literally flying Scotsman Duhan van der Merwe. It was actually something of an own goal, as Ireland had unwisely decided to run out of defence from their own scrum just moments before.

Ireland spoilt for choice but major shake-up unlikely for trip to Wales

Gerry Thornley: Ireland may need to win Grand Slam to claim historic third title

Ref should have given Ireland a penalty try but Henshaw can count himself lucky

In the context of the match it would be churlish to have a go at the match officials, but a bit like ordering the ‘wrong’ food in a restaurant, the refereeing of New Zealander James Doleman wasn’t to my taste.

When asked what is their greatest strength, most referees will say “man management and communication” – it’s a fashionable answer. But Doleman overdid it, and, in doing so, drew himself into debates and over-explaining of his decisions.

As the match developed, he was practically giving us a running commentary. On one scrum penalty he repeated, I think it was five times, his reason for giving it. That sort of speaks for itself.

His interpretation of Robbie Henshaw’s knock-on as a genuine attempt to wrap in the tackle, baffled me. Doleman and his officials construed that it was not deliberate, to the roared anger of the Scottish supporters. It was impossible not to sympathise with them.

New Zealand referee James Doleman signals a try for Ireland's Caelan Doris against Scoltland. Photograph: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images

And then there was the penalty try that wasn’t. In perhaps a minority ruling, I do believe it should have been awarded. The shove, by Van der Merwe on Calvin Nash stopped the Irish winger dead in his tracks, bringing his ball chase to a halt. That left the officials to decide whether or not the foul play had prevented a “probable try” from being scored.

In my view, it did and here’s why. Nash was in front of both Van der Merwe and Tom Jordan when he was pushed. The Irishman is an absolute speedster who, if he’d been allowed to continue on his fast trajectory, had a very good chance of reaching the ball before it went out of play. For me, it slotted into the “probable” category. But the only people who mattered decreed that it did not.

So to Le Crunch. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

Over the years England versus France has consistently presented referees with a mighty challenge. I reffed a couple of them in Paris around 1990; they were as hard to handle as anything I was ever involved in. If someone had told me then that one day a Georgian would referee it, I’d have called for the men in white coats to take them away.

But Nika Amashukeli was indeed the man in the middle for the 2025 edition. It was a good performance in the most epic crunch match for a long time. He didn’t try to be pals with the players, his communication was ideal – firm, concise, precise, polite.

He showed the players the respect they deserved; and the respect was clearly a two-way street. Neither did he enter debates about decisions, telling Antoine Dupont exactly that, which the French captain accepted without a murmur.

France’s Louis Bielle Biarrey runs in a late try during an epic Test against England at Twickenham. But France's poor handling cost them another two or three tries. Photograph: Andrew Fosker/Inpho

Both teams will have known well in advance that this referee is not fond of resetting the scrum, preferring to apportion blame quickly and decisively. The result was both very welcome, and also very unusual. Eleven of the 15 scrums produced good, clean possession, the others were sanctioned fast, only one was reset.

Undoubtedly, Amashukeli’s approach paid a very healthy dividend. Also, the overall low penalty count of 14, plus one free kick, and no cards, meant that he got his message across in other key areas.

Was it a perfect performance? No, it wasn’t, there is no such thing. But with the massive intensity and the tight scoreline right up to the final minute, we couldn’t reasonably expect much better.

Amashukeli did have a slice of good luck when Dupont dropped a scoring pass. It was pretty clear that the referee had been on the cusp of awarding England a penalty at the previous breakdown, 50-metres back in front of the French posts − not a good moment. That dropped pass was one of probably six which France failed to hold, two or three of those spoiling definite tries.

I don’t believe the wet weather can be blamed, France couldn’t have caught a cold despite the rain. The fundamental problem seemed to be their snatching at the ball, visualising the score before catching the pass. It needs, of course, to be the other way around.

When Louis Bielle-Biarrey dived on the ball for the opening try, some wondered if he had grazed the touch in-goal line as he scored, but that is actually an irrelevance. Providing a player is not in possession of the ball, he can tap it down from anywhere, including being in touch, or touch in-goal. That’s the law, and I’m sure all the officials knew it. Maybe.