Philippe Saint-André (right) and his assistant Jean-Baptiste Elissalde. JB Autissier / PANORAMIC
The elimination after extension to the number of tries registered (33-33, 5 tries to 4) remained across the throat of the manager of the MHR, Philippe Saint-André. It must be said that this 8e final on the lawn of the English of Exeter was marked by some disputed decisions of the Irish referee, Mr. Brace, and the referent video. A very severe red card against Zach Mercer from Montpellier, voluntary English faults not sanctioned by a yellow card, two tries refused late after a complaint from the video referent…
Asked by beIN Sport, PSA tried not to let his dissatisfaction explode. “I prefer not to talk hot because I could be very tough, very mean. It’s not my nature… We’re going to watch the game again on video and we’ll surely send a clip to the referee and the referee. Today, there were still a lot of decisions that I had trouble understanding. There are so many game facts against us… I don’t usually say it but the best team lost. Or, rather, the best team is not qualified.»
Read alsoChampions Cup: Toulouse-Sharks, La Rochelle-Saracens, the full program for the quarter-finals
At a press conference, he again displayed his annoyance. “I am perplexed and I ask myself a lot of questions because we have had a lot of refereeing decisions against us. I find the expulsion of Zach Mercer very severe, we are denied three tries, on the action of George Bridge, we judge his forward pass, while it is a defender who counters him… We are used to saying in rugby that the referee is always right even when he is wrong. This Sunday, he was very often wrong…“And to admit that he did not go to see Mr. Brace after the meeting. “It was better not. I was in danger of losing my temper and taking 30 weeks of suspension.»
