'Disgraceful' missed call 'completely changes' competition as Brumbies burned by refereeing howler

Morgan Turinui slammed the officiating as "disgraceful" as the ACT Brumbies were victims of an obvious and costly missed call in Canberra on Friday night.

Crusaders winger Sevu Reece clearly knocked on while attempting to pick up the ball and pass from the base of a ruck in the 75th minute at GIO Stadium.

But New Zealand referee James Doleman allowed play to continue, telling Brumbies players that "it came off the foot."

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Kiwi assistant Fraser Hannon failed to intervene from the sidelines and Crusaders hooker George Bell took advantage soon after to score the match-winning try.

The stakes were sky high with the 33-31 victory meaning the Crusaders will finish second and the Brumbies third heading into next weekend's Super Rugby Pacific finals.

"There's protocols around when the TMO can and can't come in, of course, but there, where you have the referee slightly unsighted, OK, he's missed it, got it completely wrong, James Doleman, about it coming off the foot," Turinui said on Stan Sport's coverage.

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"But his assistant referee (Hannon) has a clear view and has to step in and fix an absolute gaffe that quite simply costs the Brumbies the game, costs the Brumbies a home semi-final, and completely changes the makeup of this competition."

The Brumbies will host a home playoff in the first round of finals next weekend but the Chiefs and Crusaders are now in pole position thereafter.

"That's what we're talking about. It's revenue for the Brumbies organisation, it's home ground advantage, week two of the semi-finals," Turinui continued.

"They haven't finished top two in 21 years, and they won the comp that year (2004). So an absolute refereeing gaffe...

"That's not up to the standard required at Super Rugby Pacific. It quite simply cost the Brumbies second spot on the ladder and really hampers their chance of winning the comp. That's disgraceful."

The Brumbies did have a chance to snatch back the lead but Corey Toole coughed the ball up in a terrific Scott Barrett tackle.

Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham was his usual measured self when asked about the Reece howler.

"Obviously there was a knock on here from the winger before they kick into the corner and they score," Larkham told Stan Sport.

"We can't do much about that, like we know the referee's going to make mistakes, and that's a pretty crucial mistake from our perspective.

"It was a live call that went their way and we probably had a couple in the first half and we probably had a couple in the second half as well.

"But there was certainly a lot of contests at the breakdown and from a referee's perspective, when you're so focused on the breakdown, sometimes you miss some other things around the park."

The late drama overshadowed an excellent contest between two title contenders and old sparring partners.

Both sides scored four tries but Reece's drop goal - as well as his knock on luck - proved decisive.

It was the first by a winger in Super Rugby since 2012, when Andries Coetzee slotted one for the Lions against the Stormers.

Larkham is also sweating on the fitness of star centre Len Ikitau, who scored a try but limped off with an injury with 10 minutes to play.

Earlier on Friday, the Chiefs locked up top spot on the ladder with a 41-24 win over the last placed Highlanders in Dunedin.

Saturday's action kicks off with the defending champion Blues hosting the NSW Waratahs in Auckland in a must win game for both sides.

The Hurricanes then welcome Moana Pasifika to Wellington before the fifth-placed Queensland Reds take on the Fijian Drua in Brisbane.