Warren Gatland felt the change in referee knocked Wales off their stride as they crashed out of the World Cup with a 29-17 quarter-final defeat to Argentina in Marseille.
South African official Jaco Peyper hobbled off with a calf injury after Wales had scored their first try in the 15th minute, taking a 7-0 lead in a match they had dominated.
But with Karl Dickson replacing Peyper their ascendency slipped away and Argentina came on strong in the second half with tries from Joel Sclavi and Nicolas Sanchez sweeping them into the last four.
Head coach Gatland was full of praise for the Pumas’ performance but also felt events had conspired against Wales.
“It probably didn’t help with the referee getting injured. That was a little bit disruptive in terms of the game,” said Gatland, who confirmed his commitment to remaining in charge of Wales until the 2027 World Cup.
“We were 10-0 up and were thinking that if we take a few of the opportunities that were presented to us. Unfortunately we gave away a couple of soft penalties.
“It does throw you off. We were comfortable with Jaco Peyper and the relationship we have with him in terms of his control of the game.
“It’s nothing against Karl but you do a lot of analysis through what referees tend to be tough on and what they are looking for.
“We hadn’t prepared for the change. Sometimes that happens in a game and you just have to deal with it. That is the way Test match rugby goes sometimes.”
A controversial refereeing decision saw Guido Petti hit Nick Tompkins in the head with his shoulder in the third quarter but Dickson and TMO Marius Jonker ruled there was no foul play.
It was explained that because the tackle had been called, Tompkins was falling and Petti entered legally while bent at the waist, there was no offence. Argentina went over from the same period of play to stretch their lead.
“It would be interesting to see what happens in terms of the feedback from the panel,” Gatland said.
“He (Dickson) felt that Nick has dropped his height and he said it wasn’t foul play. I would need to go back and look at it, but it was probably at least a penalty situation.
“Sometimes those things happen in a game in big moments and can swing things. That is just the way it is.”
Dan Biggar’s final match for Wales ended in disappointment with the fly-half eventually departing in the second half having taken a bang to the chest early on, possibly exacerbating a pectoral muscle injury he had been carrying.
“Dan has been a great servant for Welsh rugby. He has been through some incredible highs and some lows as well. To see him come into the side and mature and develop as a player, that has been pretty special,” Gatland said.
Argentina were transformed from the team routed 27-10 by 14-man England in their group opener and head coach Michael Cheika insisted the lessons of that defeat had been learned.
“We knew that first game would be rough for us and we learned a lot from it because we had a lot of World Cup first timers,” Cheika said.
“There hasn’t been a radical turnaround, we’ve just built from what we’ve learned. The progress hasn’t been lineal, but all that work we put in as a foundation has paid off.
“We’re starting to get a bit of flow and one thing this team has always had is lots of flow. We just didn’t handle the occasion against England well.”
'World-class' Scotland will provide Wallabies' sternest test – Skelton
Australia will face their sternest test to date when they continue their autumn tour against a "world-class" Scotland team at Murrayfield on Sunday.
That is the view of forward Will Skelton, who believes the Wallabies' victories in England and Wales have brought a new energy and confidence to their camp.
Having crashed out in the pool stage at last year's World Cup in France before finishing last in the Rugby Championship, Australia have looked a team reborn in recent weeks.
A first victory at Twickenham since 2015 and a 52-20 rout of Wales – their biggest-ever away win in matches between the teams – have made it an excellent tour to date for Joe Schmidt's side.
But La Rochelle lock Skelton feels their toughest assignment is to come this week, saying: "We've won two games, we're very aware of that.
"The Test against Scotland is going to be the hardest one yet. We're excited about this weekend and we're looking forward to ripping into it.
"Physically they're up there with the top five in the world. I think set-piece wise they're really strong.
"You've got a guy like Finn Russell who's a maestro at the back there. I think it's going be a close one and we'll be up for it.
"There's some class players in the Scottish team and, when they're at it they're world-class, so we're going to have to be on top of our game."
Wales must 'show courage and front up' against South Africa, says Gatland
Warren Gatland has urged Wales to "show real courage and front up" in their final Autumn Nations clash against South Africa.
Gatland's side bring the curtain down on a disappointing year when they welcome the reigning world champions to the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
Wales have lost an unprecedented 11 straight Tests, and could go an entire calendar year without tasting success for the first time since 1937.
Gatland has made four changes from last weekend's 52-20 defeat to Australia, with Sam Costelow, Rio Dyer, Christ Tshiunza and Taine Plumtree all coming into the starting XV.
Gareth Anscombe, Aaron Wainwright and Cameron Winnett drop out of the squad, while Adam Beard misses out through injury.
And Gatland wants his players to demonstrate fighting spirit against the Springboks.
"Last week's result hurts, and we are just as disappointed by it as the fans," he told reporters during his pre-match press conference.
"Our focus now is on training and preparing well for our final game of this Autumn Nations Series.
"There were good elements that we can definitely build on going into Saturday, but we have to improve our accuracy.
"We know what a quality side South Africa are and the physicality they bring. This week, we need to show real courage and front up against the world champions."
Argentina 1-0 Peru: Martinez matches Maradona to snatch qualifying win
Lautaro Martinez equalled Diego Maradona's scoring record for Argentina as his strike secured a 1-0 win over Peru in their CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier.
The Albiceleste bounced back from a shock defeat to Paraguay, with the Inter striker's 55th-minute effort enough to extend their lead at the top of the table to five points.
Argentina started brightly and almost took the lead with their first real opportunity, only for Julian Alvarez's powerful strike to rebound off the outside of the post.
Alexis Mac Allister also came close moments later and rose high to meet Alvarez's cross, though he could only glance his header wide.
Martinez, who netted his 32nd Argentina goal to go joint-fifth in the all-time scoring chart, proved decisive in the second half, acrobatically volleying Lionel Messi's cross into the back of the net.
Lionel Scaloni's side are one place above Uruguay, who they face next. They are on 25 points at the top of the qualifying table, while Peru are rooted to the bottom with just seven.
Data Debrief: Equalling a great
Martinez took 70 appearances to go level with Maradona in the Argentina record books, though he is still a long way off matching Messi's 112-goal tally for his country.
The captain, meanwhile, registered his 58th assist, matching former United States forward Landon Donovan's record for most international assists.
It was a needed win for the hosts, but they had to edge a cagey affair to get it. There were just three shots on target in the whole game, with all three falling to Argentina.
Peru failed to attempt a shot on target for the first time in the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers since facing Argentina in October 2023.
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