Chris Rattue: Crying shame this 'try' not awarded

What a stunning "try" to the Hawkes Bay prop Sona Taumalolo against Canterbury, and what a disastrous shame it wasn't awarded.

And what a spectacular Air New Zealand Cup match between the leaders in Napier. It was a stirring rugby night, even if the home side relied a bit too much on putting up bombs in front of their home crowd.

Had Taumalolo been awarded the 80th minute try, Hawkes Bay's ace goalkicker Matt Berquist might have slammed over a sideline conversion for a draw and an extra competition point.

That point could be vital in the semifinal washup - let's hope it isn't, although this may be hard to quantify.

We can all be couch replay experts these days and repeated frame-by-frame analysis of the incident leaves no doubt at all that Taumalolo clearly scored. Absolutely no doubt at all.

It was a sensational effort from Taumalolo, who charged on the angle from a tap penalty, then dived and stretched out an arm to score in the corner with the tracking tacklers and a hesitant wing surprised by his acceleration, and well beaten.

There are world-class wings who would have struggled to match this.

Considering that it came at the death, Taumalolo's speed, presence of mind and dexterity were even more remarkable. He had, after all, been locking horns with an all-All Black Canterbury tight five, and had done pretty well at that, too.

This should have been a contender for try of the year and a shocked Taumalolo, who had risen in delighted triumph, appeared to give referee Chris Pollock - who could only shrug - a spray. Who could blame Taumalolo?

It is rare to see such a moment in sport, a fantastic individual effort to overturn a favourite, and thus a crying shame to have it rubbed out. Without a video referee, Pollock and his linesman could still have let the benefit of the doubt fall where it should.

It even makes you wonder if reputations hold sway, whether the Canterbury aura and the presence of Richie McCaw and co subconsciously persuaded the officials not to make a tough ruling against them.

The NZRU must consider re-introducing the video referee, and this should be easier to do in a new 10-team competition. Credibility and sporting justice is suffering without the video inspection.