Guest Blogger The Rugby Scribbler sympathises with the Wasps fans

Rugby is an incredibly technical sport, one which has no set rules. The use of ‘laws’ to dictate the barriers of what we can and cannot do on a rugby field are named so, because laws are open to interpretation- there’s no definite yes no answer on many areas of the game.

That does not excuse some poor decisions in the game, but it demonstrates well that our game is not an easy one to interpret and sadly but perhaps inevitably, mistakes will be made and not always in your favour.

The example that jumps to mind immediately is Scotland’s World Cup Quarter final heart break last year against Australia- the pain dug deep as Graham Love demonstrates effectively in this video…

Other teams will have other examples. One thing that’s for sure is that it’s tough- tough on the fans, the players, the management, but also the officials too. We’re all human and one mistake at the wrong time can have huge repercussions- look at the flak taken by Craig Joubert over the last year, when World Rugby threw him under a bus, then drove over his corpse a little more just to make sure.

As it stands, the laws surrounding penalties in the last minute are clear- kick the ball out past the eightieth minute and that’s game over. That’s all set to change soon, but has not yet changed. This therefore is in many ways more frustrating than the decision that went against Scotland, which was far more complex and difficult to see.

Match officials should be clear on the laws. However, to rubbish the Connacht result is laughable. Connacht asked the referee if there was time for the lineout, he said there was. Had he then retracted the statement having realised he made the mistake would be as bad as what happened in reality.

If told there wasn’t time, Connacht would’ve made a different decision. Whether they would’ve scored from a tap is a different matter. Once the ref has told them that there is time, he could not then tell them otherwise.

It’s a big error from the officials. But look on the bright side. You’re still top of your pool and got a losing bonus point.

Even if you miraculously don’t qualify (with that kind of quality squad, you should) at least it won’t be four more years until you have a crack at it, eh?

You can catch more of the Scribbler's stuff here, or follow him on Twitter: @RugbyScribbler