Nigel Owens has a reputation for allowing the game to flow, but it went a bit too far at Murrayfield this afternoon. First of all, he disallowed this Leinster try for an apparent forward pass by Johnny Sexton, without pausing the game to check with the Television Match Official. Owens was in a good place to spy it, but replays suggest it was an extremely close call:
A few moments later, Owens did allow a Leinster try, but this was again wrapped in controversy. Earlier in the move, Tiernan O'Halloran went down with a heavy knock to his head, following this shuddering collision:
Almost two minutes later, Sean Cronin touched down for Leinster to the sound of boos from Connacht fans, who believed the game should have been stopped for O'Halloran's head injury. The Connacht full-back was forced to leave the field in the aftermath of the collision.
Disgusted at Nigel Owens clearly the connaught player needed medical attention. Y doesn't rugby wake up to dangers of concussion #pro12final
— Fergal Mawe (@Mawe_F) May 28, 2016
Player safety my must come first. Not stopping the game does not reflect well on @Nigelrefowens. pic.twitter.com/gBF2yoZyQP
— NDM MacLeod 🏴🇺🇦 (@NeilBriogaisean) May 28, 2016
