Six Nations 2024: World Rugby denies Scotland admits foul against France

World Rugby has no plans to issue a public explanation for the decision not to award Scotland what would have been a winning try against France.

Scottish Rugby has called on the governing body to acknowledge that a game-fixing error occurred in the final seconds of Saturday's Six Nations clash.

But World Rugby will stick to its position of not commenting publicly on the decisions of specific officials, and is not expected to issue any clarification to clarify the situation in the public domain.

The SRU argued that the integrity of the tournament was in danger of being compromised when referee Nic Berry and TMO Brian MacNeice appeared to have overturned their decision to award Scotland a try.

He wished to know how this process was carried out and wanted to remind World Rugby that an error had occurred.

With Scotland trailing 20-16, Sam Skinner fired home from close range in search of the try the hosts needed at Murrayfield.

Perry's initial on-field ruling was that the Scotland forward had not grounded the ball on the try line. MacNeice then advised Perry that a video replay showed that the ball had indeed been grounded.

Seconds later, MacNeice appeared to back down, prompting a change of direction from Perry, who ruled that there was certainly no conclusive evidence after all that Skinner had recorded.

A source close to the situation said: “The dialogue between the referee and the TMO did not make any sense.”

The SRU questions the decision and the message it sends. With the arrival of Netflix and the creation of its animated series Full Contact, rugby is trying to expand its traditional fanbase and attract new audiences.

The source said the confusion at the end of the game on Saturday may confuse the people the game is trying to reach.

“Lessons need to be learned so it doesn't happen again. It's not about Scottish rugby being aggressive.”

As part of the post-match protocol, Scotland coach Gregor Townsend wrote to Joel Gottje, World Rugby's head of referees, and Phil Davies, the governing body's director of rugby.

Townsend felt aggrieved after the first week when referee Ben O'Keeffe awarded 16 penalties against Scotland and only four against Wales in the Principality.

The coach inquired about some of O'Keefe's decisions, which is normal practice. Coaches always ask for clarifications about certain incidents in Test matches.

At the heart of Townsend's message this week could have been that late controversy, which has been the talk of European, if not world, rugby since Saturday.