Rugby’s conundrum: Get the right decision, or let the game flow?

Do we want the decisions to be right or the game to be “free flowing”?

That’s the questionafter an old-fashioned howler cost the Brumbies the match against the Reds in Canberra on Saturday.

Filipo Daugunu clearly knocked on at the final restart, but it was missed, and the Reds promptly went up to the other end and scored the match-winner in their 34-31 win.

Setting aside the perception issue of having two former Queensland halfbacks in the Super Rugby refereeing pool - a perception issue, not a real one, it must be added - the fact that the television match official (TMO) could not intervene to correct Damon Murphy’s on-field error raises a big problem for the competition.

In one sense, the Brumbies have to cop it on the chin - all coaches apparently signed up for the guidelines that keep the TMO out of the game - but this was not the first try scored this season that should not have been allowed.

There is a very fine line between chasing entertainment and maintaining the integrity of the result.

A triple whammy for the Waratahs

It was a bad weekend for the Waratahs, with three significant setbacks. The 59-19 loss to the Hurricanes highlighted limitations in both strategy and personnel.

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s hamstring injury is a kick in the guts, given his game-changing abilities.

However, regarding their playoff aspirations, the re-emergence of the Blues as a genuinely good side is probably just as damaging.

The Blues beat the Crusaders 29-13 and look like a top-six team, which could squeeze the Waratahs out of the picture.

They travel to Brisbane to face the Reds on Saturday, but the Queenslanders will only vaguely resemble the team that played in Sydney in round one.

Reds No.10 Carter Gordon is a key inclusion who didn’t play in the season opener.

It’s a Lonergan-Gordon Wallabies combo at this stage

Charlie Cale has rightly won all the plaudits at the Brumbies so far, but their real MVP is halfback Ryan Lonergan.

In general, the No.9 position has become more important than the No.10 across rugby - unless you have a Finn Russell - and Lonergan is the chief conductor at the Brumbies.

When they replaced him against the Reds on Saturday, the Brumbies led by 11 points with three minutes left.

At this stage of the season, he’s well ahead in the race for the Wallabies’ No.9 jersey, and Carter Gordon would be outside him at No.10.

Gordon’s match-winning try against the Brumbies contrasted sharply with Tane Edmed’s spilled catch from a Kalani Thomas bomb, and his running game suits the aesthetically pleasing shape of the Reds attack when it flows.

Lonergan’s goalkicking is another strength, and he also showed a sharp running game when the space was available.

Force left kicking themselves

The legality of the Highlanders’ maul defence in one key moment was on coach Simon Cron’s mind after the 39-31 loss to the Highlanders on Saturday, but he and captain Jeremy Williams also acknowledged that the game ultimately was decided by kick strategy and execution.

They used the box-kick early, with mixed results, and when they switched up plans and started kicking long, they put the Highlanders under pressure. But Cron lamented a failure to find touch with about 10 minutes to go, an error that sparked the Highlanders’ match-winning counterattack.

Perhaps inevitably, former Force playmaker Reesjan Pasitoa - who now appears lost to Australian rugby - enjoyed a strong performance off the bench for the Highlanders, pulling off two big tackles and landing two important shots at goal.

The Wallabies’ July tests suddenly look harder

The Wallabies play Ireland, France, and Italy on consecutive weekends in the first Nations Championship in July. Judging by the outstanding play in the Six Nations, all of those Tests will be challenging.

Having already beaten Scotland, Italy beat England 23-18 in Rome over the weekend, and former Rebels winger Monty Ioane provided more evidence that he has turned himself into a brilliant all-round Test winger.

With about 10 minutes left and the game in the balance, Ioane caught one towering England box-kick and then made the half-break that led to Italy’s match-winning try.

Italy have already beaten Scotland, and if losing to the Italians is still deemed a sackable offence, there soon won’t be too many coaches left in Test rugby.

France lost 50-40 to Scotland in an epic in Edinburgh, while Ireland held off a much-improved Wales in Dublin. The quality of the rugby in this year’s Six Nations has been brilliant - Joe Schmidt has a big job on his hands in July.