Crying foul! It’s farcical for officials to ignore dirty play in Saracens’ thunderous win over Harlequins just because a TV pundit beat them to it

Even more controversy. There’s always something, right? And this time it’s apparently Austin Healey’s fault, because he made a quick and astute observation in his role as a TV pundit.

In the closing stages of Saracens’ thumping 52-7 win over Harlequins, Stephan Lewies, the doomed visitors’ frustrated captain, recklessly threw himself into Owen Farrell, who was lying on the ground next to a ruck.

It was an ugly collision, late and off the ball, that led to a scuffle involving several players. It warranted action against Lewies, but nothing happened as Healey highlighted the foul in TNT Sports commentary.

Television match official Stuart Terheege was overheard telling referee Christophe Ridley: ‘The problem I have now is that it looks like Austin has taken the initiative because we’re late, so I don’t want to talk about it, okay? Essentially, he did not want to be seen as intervening to ensure that justice was done, in case it was perceived that this was prompted by an outside voice.

The bizarre, farcical episode did not go down well. Professor John Fairclough, of player welfare group Progressive Rugby, said: ‘Whatever the reason, it is clear that a decision was made to ignore foul, reckless or dangerous play out of concern that it had been highlighted by an expert. This is hugely concerning and a clear breach of a match official’s duty to ensure player safety. An explanation must be urgently sought.’

Referee Christophe Ridley opted not to punish Lewies after being told it would make it look like they had been influenced by the TV commentary.

He is right; it was wrong. That shouldn’t happen, but this is a problem when a member of the competition team is so dependent on the broadcasters to provide the necessary material – and even sit at the table with them. On a darker note, there have been regular grumblings in recent years that TMOs in France may be hampered by sudden, inexplicable shortages of camera angles.

The Saracens incident was bad for the game and needs to be addressed. There cannot be such a blatant procedural error without good reason. Ideally, civil servants could be kept separate from – and unaware of – the work and views of nearby television staff. But even if they can’t avoid being aware of an outside opinion, they should still take the appropriate action.

On a more positive note, there were positive developments on the other side of the world last weekend. During the Blues v Crusaders match in Super Rugby, Kiwi referee Ben O’Keefe continued to order scrum halves to run to the base of the rucks – with countdowns to avoid wasting time. He was then available for an interview after the match, to discuss his decision-making regarding three yellow cards and other talking points. Urgency and transparency; a welcome double.

MERCER COULD BE CRUCIAL FOR ENGLAND

Zach Mercer is a Test player who doesn’t happen to play Test rugby.

That’s the obvious takeaway from Gloucester No 8’s last great club performance, when he and his West Country teammates stormed the ramparts at Welford Road to inflict a crushing defeat on Leicester.

Mercer was good. Very good. Ridiculously good. He’s like a one-man cheat code in a rugby computer game. We hope that England head coach Steve Borthwick can bring himself to reconsider the 26-year-old given the national team’s recent change in strategic direction.

Zach Mercer has proven time and time again that he deserves a call-up to Steve Borthwick’s England squad

Mercer was overlooked for the Six Nations but would be a singing and dancing asset during the summer tour of Japan and New Zealand.

If England wants to maintain its new adventurous spirit, Mercer could really strengthen that mission. Imagine him and Ben Earl running into a tiring defense…

FARRELL CAN STILL SIGN OUT IN STYLE

Don’t bet on Farrell signing off as a title winner at Saracens again. It was the epitome of a statement victory for the defending champions; both in style and content.

To think that they used to be derided as boring, but now ran the ball from behind their own line – and there was Elliot Daly throwing passes between his legs, which isn’t exactly his typical England approach.

Owen Farrell can claim one more Premiership title before leaving Saracens for France

Quins, along with Northampton, were victims of a half-century hammering at the weekend – and there was always a danger of such outbursts after the refreshing disruption of a mid-season break.

In the meantime, big congratulations to Saracens for filling the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and showing that club rugby – with the right marketing efforts – can be on the same big stages as Premier League football.

THE DONCASTER DEBACLE HIGHLIGHTS THE MISTAKES OF THE PRIME MINISTER

Relegation has become a hot topic again after a week in which the sport strengthened its anti-growth credentials.

There will be no movement into or out of the Premier League this summer as Championship clubs had to apply for an audit for promotion and only Doncaster submitted to that process.

The fact that leaders Ealing Trailfinders were less than enthusiastic may have something to do with the estimated £30m fee for entry into the top division – in the form of pushing for newcomers to buy a P share.

That barrier needs to be removed because the Premier League has been a loss-making business. Anyway, Doncaster found they had met the minimum standard criteria because they had reached a point in the season where they already knew they weren’t going to win the championship, so it was all a wasted exercise.

The fact that there will be no promotion or relegation this season highlights the shortcomings of the Premier League’s financial processes

How bad rugby.

Meanwhile, Georgia has opted to invite Wales and ask for a test in Tbilisi this autumn, rather than an actual Six Nations promotion-relegation play-off. If the WRU were to read the audience and say yes, it would be a risk worth taking.

In an era when the oval-ball calendar is full of ‘money games’, this would be a match of far greater significance, even if it wouldn’t change the landscape, at least for now.