Letter: Sour grapes

Sir: Mr Pearce (Sports Letters, 18 February) argues that 'the history books' had been rewritten by inept refereeing during the Wales v England international at Cardiff. I assume he refers specifically to the controversial decision to refuse Dewi Morris a try. Many respected commentators have voiced an opinon about the incident, by no means all advocating that a try should have been awarded. My own opinion is that Morris appeared to 'knock-on' when trying to gather the ball at the outset of his run and then, after grounding the ball short of the line, pushed the ball forward, registering another knock-on. To imply that allowing a try would have meant an England victory is presumptuous. Wales played the second half defending a lead, had they needed to chase the game, there is no way of knowing which side would have won. To solely blame a referee's perceived ineptitude is unfair, when Mr Pearce could have chosen Underwood's slackness, Carling's fumbling, Webb's inaccuracy or Andrew's inflexibility as contributory factors.

Yours faithfully

ADRIAN THOMAS

Port Talbot

West Glamorgan

18 February