Samoa came achingly close to upsetting England at the Rugby World Cup this afternoon, with an 18-17 loss at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
They led for the majority of the game thanks to two first-half tries from Nigel Ah Wong, and two conversions and a penalty from Lima Sopoaga.
England worked their way back with tries from Ollie Chessum and Danny Care, while Owen Farrell slotted the kicks.
However, many fans were wholly displeased with the work of Irish TMO Brian MacNeice, after he controversially disallowed a third first-half try for Samoa.
After a botched box kick from England's Alex Mitchell, Duncan Paia'aua pounced on a loose ball dived over for what he thought was a 19-18 lead.
Samoa even managed to take the conversion before MacNeice reviewed the try and ruled - much to the disagreement of viewers - that there had been a slight knock-on from Tumua Manu in the build-up.
It is not the first time a Tier 2 side has been on the wrong end of a harsh call, with Fiji against Wales coming to mind, and many feel that the top sides get favourable treatment from the officials.
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Rugby Fans Rage At TMO For Contentious Decision Against Samoa v England At World Cup
Let's discuss Samoa's (non) try:
*Samoa score
*TMO checks
*Try awarded
*Conversion takes place
*Play resumes
*TMO re-checks
*Try disallowedI'm sorry but that is not an obvious knock on.
Sufficient doubt plus you've already determined as much!#RWC2023 #ENGvSAM
1/2 pic.twitter.com/o3RckFDNzJ
— Front Row Rugby (@FrontRowRugbyXV) October 7, 2023
Samoa rugby Union - with no funding showing England Rugby Union - the wealthiest - how to play with passion
I don’t think that knock on was clear and obvious and TMO should not have interfered with that try for Samoa— Nick Knowles (@MrNickKnowles) October 7, 2023
Ref and TMO getting that call wrong, Eng lucky, should have been 3rd try for Samoa!
— Kobus Wiese (@4KobusWiese) October 7, 2023
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"It was scrappy, it did not feel like the best from us," said England's Owen Farrell after the match.
"All credit to Samoa and how they came out and got at us, it was tough to deal with at times and we did not deal with it discipline wise and with mistakes. But I'm glad we found a way back in and happy we found a way to win.
"I don't know what it means," he added when asked about breaking Jonny Wilkinson's record as England's all-time points scorer.
"I am still thinking about the game and us. It'll be like that for a long time to come and I'll think about it later down the line."
This was a ridiculous try from Samoa against England 🔥 #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/DZvpOG2cas
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) October 7, 2023
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