Refereeing takes centre stage after Stormers edged in Galway: 'Cynical penalties missed'

The Stormers were beaten 19-17 in their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against Connacht in Galway on Saturday, but much of the post-match discussion centred around the refereeing on the day.

Scotland's Ben Blair was the man blowing the whistle, and Stormers captain Steven Kitshoff and coach John Dobson acknowledged afterwards that some of the calls had been "frustrating". 

The difference in refereeing styles and standards in the northern hemisphere compared to the south has been a talking point throughout the URC, and how South African sides adapt to that change on their trips to take on European opposition is becoming increasingly crucial. 

Connacht was penalised just four times throughout the 80 minutes on Saturday. In the second half, the Stormers had Sergeal Petersen and Ruhan Nel yellow-carded in a double-blow that ultimately cost them the game. 

Speaking in the SuperSport studios after the fixture, former Springbok coach Nick Mallet was scathing of Blair's officiating and the Nel yellow card, in particular, while former Bok prop Rob Kempson also called out the general standard of officiating. 

The maul was the most noticeably concerning area for onlookers, with the Stormers dominating that facet entirely in the first half before Connacht found ways - illegally, in the eyes of Kitshoff - to stop that momentum in the second period.  

"The mauling was very frustrating," Kitshoff said.

"I felt we had complete dominance when it came to maul time, and we didn't get any reward out of it.

"There were some cynical penalties that were missed. I'm not bad-mouthing the ref at all, but there were clear penalties missed, and it was very frustrating. We'll have a look at what went wrong and then discuss it with the refs prior to