Toulouse secured a place in the Champions Cup semi-finals, where they will face Leinster, after beating the Sharks 54-20 in what was one of the games of the season.
While the 34 point deficit is substantial, the travelling South Africans were highly competitive for the majority of the game before Toulouse pulled away with four tries in the last 12 minutes.
The game will be remembered for its elite display of attacking brilliance from both sides, but also for the much criticised actions of the French TV directors in control of the broadcast.
Sharks fans were livid at the lack of replays shown before Juan Cruz Mallia's first half try which featured a clear forward pass from Thomas Ramos to the Argentinian winger.
In the second 40, Sharks scrum half Grant Williams had a try chalked off after much deliberation from the TMO, with multiple replays of the forward pass leading up to the score.
With the World Cup in France on the horizon, questions need to be asked over the impartiality of the directors and what actions can be taken by World Rugby to ensure incidents like this do not occur on the game's biggest stage.
French TV Directors Under Fire For Champions Cup Actions
Toulouse sneak back in front, going into halftime 14-10. The Sharks clearly didn't read the script in the first half 🙄
🎥 @ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/4NMrpHrih2— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 8, 2023
Victor Matfield saying on live tv that a South African (SuperSport) TV director would've had an influence on which replays were shown to the ref and the crowd ON SUPERSPORT???
— Thala Msutu (@ThalaMsutu77) April 8, 2023
#TLSvSHA pic.twitter.com/K17QRcurgR
— The 2nd Row (@the2ndRow) April 8, 2023
All I will say is that come the World Cup, do everything you can to avoid facing France. If their team doesn’t beat you, their TV directors will damn sure make sure they do.
— A-P (@rugby_ap) April 8, 2023
So @WorldRugby might want to get neutral tv directors in the France games or for all games or employ their own for the @rugbyworldcup in France if this weekends lack of replays is anything to go by
— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) April 9, 2023
Not one replay of the forward pass from Toulouse but 8 replays of the Sharks. Absolutely despicable from the broadcast team. #TOUvSHA
— BwanaZed🇿🇲🇮🇹 🇺🇦 (@Zamshark) April 8, 2023
NAH THIS REF IS AN ABSOLUTE JOKE. THEY DIDNT CHECK TOULOUSE PASS BUT HE SEES THE REPLAY AND STOPS IT.
Haven't seen blatant cheating like this in a very long time..
So sad to see #HeinekenChampionsCup— AFCRyan 🇿🇦 (@AFC_Ryan__) April 8, 2023
Forward pass is the right call, but the way the ref is manipulated by TV director and the partisan crowd is a farce.
— Jon Cardinelli (@jon_cardinelli) April 8, 2023
READ HERE: Watch: Munster Score Absurdly Good Try In Champions Cup Clash Against Toulouse
“The turning point was Grant Williams’ second try (61st minute), which was not awarded due to a forward pass to him from Thomas du Toit. If we could have scored there, it would have created renewed momentum that we could have carried through,” said Sharks head coach Neil Powell said after the match.
“Nevertheless, the guys put everything in, and showed tremendous fighting spirit. They played their hearts out.
“It was particularly disappointing as we had been extremely competitive for so long and with barely 20 minutes to go we still had a chance to win.
“When you play in the knockout rounds of a competition like the Champions Cup against an excellent team like Toulouse, who know what it takes to be successful, you have to be more clinical and try to limit mistakes.”
SEE ALSO: Rugby Fans Were Blown Away By Nonchalant Thomas Ramos Pass
