Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Katie Sands

The split-second moment Ross Moriarty mistakenly thought he'd blown the Rugby World Cup for Wales before becoming the hero

It was a sliding doors moment that Ross Moriarty will be having nightmares about for days to come.

With Wales trailing France 19-10, Moriarty came on early in the second-half to replace the injured Josh Navidi, but within 90 seconds he was headed back off the pitch again for a high tackle on Gaël Fickou.

Around 30 minutes later he was crossing the line to score the try that put Wales in the World Cup semi-finals.

While the joy of that moment will be all-consuming, there's no doubting the sheer fear Moriarty felt when he thought he might lose everything.

After the incident was reviewed with the help of the TMO, referee Jaco Peyper called for captain Alun Wyn Jones to approach for the decision as Moriarty stood by.

The No 8 could be heard asking: "It's not a red, is it?" before mistakenly thinking the referee had said yes.

Visibly much to his relief, it was then explained that the high tackle was being dealt with by way of a yellow card.

Speaking on ITV, Welsh rugby legend and pundit Mike Phillips alluded to fears of it being like Sam Warburton's red card against France eight years ago.

Phillips said: "You could see in his face he was panicking.

Gael Fickou of France is tackled high by Ross Moriarty (Getty Images)

"He's a passionate guy.. international rugby is all about controlling your emotions."

Peyper is the referee who gave Moriarty his marching orders last summer in Argentina for a prolonged chokehold on Nicolas Sanchez.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.