Ref's rectification after mistaken advantage call

[jeremy]

Here's an interesting sequence from the 3rd Lions test:

Ref calls a knock-on advantage against Lions, Wallabies player grabs the ball and allows himself to be pushed into touch.
Ref then reviews and decides it wasn't a knock-on, hence Lions lineout.
Wallabies captain remonstrates with the ref: "We had the ball, you stuffed up, that was your mistake, not our mistake."
Ref: "I haven't blown the whistle."
As the Wallabies captain continues remonstrating, ref than says: "I didn't give you advantage" - when he very clearly did (72:09 on the game clock).

Which is obviously not the right way to bluster through such a situation.

But what was the right thing to do?
(Both in terms of the technical ruling, and communicating it.)

 

[Ciaran Trainor]

Australia clearly in possession and do not contest and allowed themselves to be pushed into touch thinking they would get scrum advantage from knock on which the ref clearly signaled.
for me the TMO review is now irrelevant.
Should have been
"Sorry Lads, my mistake, Australia clearly in possession and accepting the scrum from my call, Scrum Australia."

Very poor call.

 

[crossref]

Tmo should never have got involved in that
Not sure how he did ? Was he initially looking at something else ? Should have kept his mouth shut

But even then, scrum Australia would have been equitable, I thought

 

[Dickie E]

Karma gods stepped in. Australia won the subsequent lineout
Maybe the Lions lost the lineout intentionally as they knew Wallabies had the moral high ground

 

[SimonSmith]

Karma gods stepped in. Australia won the subsequent lineout
Maybe the Lions lost the lineout intentionally as they knew Wallabies had the moral high ground

They'd spent most of the game practicing so they could get that particular gift just right...

Marius Jonker? Interventionist TMO? Nooooooo