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Watch: Is this the worst TMO call of the rugby season?

September 8, 2022

Usually wingers credit their teammates for helping them score tries but Wellington's Connor Garden-Bachop has someone else to credit for his latest meat pie - the television match official.

Garden-Bachop scored the first try of Wednesday night's NPC clash between Wellington and Tasman in Nelson, finishing in the left corner as All Black Sevu Reece attempted to bundle him into touch.

The finish was sent upstairs to video referee Cory Eggers to review with replays showing Reece had done enough to deny the try as Garden-Bachop's left hand had clearly gone into touch before he scored.

Or so Tasman thought.

After three replays of the moment, Eggers found nothing wrong with it and awarded Wellington the five-pointer, sparking some head-scratching from Sky Sport's commentary team.

Former All Black Kane Hames, who was part of Wednesday's commentary team, was able to give some insight into Eggers' decision shortly after although it was of little comfort to Mako fans.

"The TMO is sitting right next to me and I did have a chat to him," Hames said.

"He didn’t actually look at the left hand, he missed it. He’s just seen the replay again and he’s gutted. So there’s the explanation."

The moment sparked plenty of discussion on social media with fans calling the moment "amateur", "inexcusable" and "way off" among other, more passionate descriptions.

Making matters worse for Tasman is the fact Wellington went on to win the tightly-contested match 25-19 - the Lions' first win over the Mako in 12 years.

The result hinders Tasman's chances of making this year's quarter-finals as they sit fifth in the Evens Conference, four points behind North Harbour.

1News has asked NZ Rugby for comment on the matter.

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