South African BKT United Rugby Championship side the Hollywoodbets Sharks are in the midst of a red-hot battle with French Top 14 outfit Clermont Auvergne.
Playing their ‘home’ semi-final against Clermont at the Twickenham Stoop in London, the Sharks are trailing their French rivals 31 – 25 with 15 minutes to play.
Coming back into the contest over the last ten minutes, the Sharks appeared to have wrestled back control of the fixture to get back within a converted try.
Seemingly in the ascendancy, the South Africans looked set to close to another score that could potentially have got them into the lead as Springbok winger Makazole Mapimpi raced down the left-hand touchline.
However, the move, which resulted in a strong line-out position, was called back for an incident that happened a few phases prior and was looked at.
Facing a potential try-scoring opportunity, Clermont winger Joris Jurand looked set for a hattrick of tries before Sharks fullback Aphelele Fassi brought an end to the move.
What followed was a thorough examination as Fassi was adjudged to have taken Jurand out early with a potential try-scoring opportunity on the cards.
Utilising clear and concise communication, referee Luke Pearce handled the incident superbly as he assessed all of the angles before adjudging that whilst Fassi’s actions were worth a yellow card, it did not warrant a penalty try.
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