Former All Blacks Claim Damian de Allende's Try at Cape Town Stadium Should Not Have Stood

• Former All Blacks Mils Muliaina and James Parsons questioned the validity of Damian de Allende's try in the Springboks' win over New Zealand
• The two ex-internationals alleged that Bok hooker Deon Fourie obstructed All Blacks flanker Simon Parker during the build-up to the score
• TMO Brett Cronan reviewed the try but focused solely on a possible knock-on, leaving the obstruction claim unexamined

Two former All Blacks have raised serious questions about a Springbok try that they believe should have been disallowed during Saturday's Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Test at Cape Town Stadium.

Damian de Allende crossed for a try in the 22nd minute as the Springboks defeated New Zealand 33-26, levelling the four-Test series at 1-1. However, former All Blacks fullback Mils Muliaina and hooker James Parsons both argued that hooker Deon Fourie obstructed All Blacks flanker Simon Parker as he attempted to tackle de Allende.

Muliaina and Parsons Make Their Case

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Speaking on Sky Sport, Muliaina argued that the incident warranted a TMO review.

"There's where he goes through, right? If Parker gets there a couple of seconds earlier, he could have made a dominant tackle," he said.

"How can you not check that? When you've checked everything else? That's obvious."

TMO Review Did Not Examine the Obstruction

TMO Brett Cronan did consult with referee Angus Gardner over the build-up to the score, but the review centred exclusively on whether Springbok flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu had knocked the ball forward. Cronan ruled:

"It's not clearly and obviously forward, so I'm going to go through to the grounding to confirm that."

The try handed the Springboks a 17-7 advantage. New Zealand mounted a late fightback but were unable to overturn the deficit, leaving South Africa with a seven-point victory.

The two sides are scheduled to meet again at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg next Saturday, with the series now level heading into the third Test.

Source: Briefly News