Nick Phipps has admitted he tried to play the ball just before referee Craig Joubert awarded the Wallabies a last-minute penalty against Scotland.

Joubert ruled that Scotland replacement prop Jon Welsh had been offside when he picked up a loose ball from a Scotland knock-on, which came after they had failed to secure their lineout ball just outside Australia's 22.

Bernard Foley kicked the resultant penalty to give the Wallabies a controversial 35-34 win in the Twickenham quarter-final.

'Everybody was trying to win the ball there,' said Phipps, the Wallabies replacement scrumhalf. 'We were all going for it.'

If the Wallabies scrumhalf did touch the ball, then Welsh was onside and Australia should have been awarded a scrum, and not a penalty.

Meanwhile, former Scotland captain Gavin Hastings said Joubert’s decision to run off the field straight after the game, without shaking hands with the players, was 'despicable' and claimed the South African should never be allowed to referee again.

'If I see referee Craig Joubert again, I am going to tell him how disgusted I am,' Hastings said. 'It was disgraceful that he ran straight off the pitch at the end like that. He has let the game down.'

Kenny Logan, the former Scotland wing, said that Joubert 'ran down the tunnel like a scared rabbit because he made a ridiculous decision'.

Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw said he asked Joubert 'on several occasions' to review the decision. However, the TMO can only be consulted if it is foul play or a try-scoring situation, so the referee had to make a decision himself.

Highlights: Wallabies vs Scotland

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