Former Test referee Jonathan Kaplan says Frans Steyn should not have been penalised after colliding in the air with Cheslin Kolbe at Newlands.
Sharks director of rugby Gary Gold questioned the decision after the match, saying Steyn had been unable to change direction once airborne.
Kaplan, writing on ratetheref.co.za, said referee Jaco Peyper had a very good game but he couldn’t agree with his sanctioning of Steyn.
'Particularly the penalty just before half-time when the player [Steyn] was airborne and there was very little he could do but come down on a lighter smaller player Kolbe. It was a play-on situation.'
Steyn would later receive a yellow card for a late tackle on Kolbe.
'Quite clearly the yellow card was an accumulation of frustration for both the player and indeed the referee. Not ideal,' said Kaplan, who agreed with Peyper's decision to award the Stormers a penalty try when Cobus Reinach played the ball in an off-side position inside the Sharks' deadball area after Odwa Ndungane had knocked on.
'The penalty try in this game was a clear cut and definitive one and a great call by the ref. Clearly the Sharks player knocked the ball on and a player ahead of him played the ball, thereby denying the Stormers a probable score. This is definitive.'
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