Dan Biggar praised for act of sportsmanship in Welsh defeat

Wales first-five Dan Biggar has been hailed for an act of sportsmanship during Wales' 19-10 World Cup warm-up defeat to Ireland in Dublin.

The 29-year-old pivot came on as a first half substitute for Rhys Patchell and made an impact shortly after entering the fray, intercepting a Johnny Sexton pass near his own tryline on the half hour mark.

He strode away downfield, but was chased down and stopped in a desperation tackle by Irish duo Robbie Henshaw and Rob Kearny just centimetres away from the host's tryline.

While it was clear to see on the television screen that Biggar had failed to plant the ball over the tryline, referee Mathieu Raynal wasn't convinced enough to make a decision either way, and was set to go to the television match official for a review of the play.

However, Biggar commendably told the Frenchman not to bother after admitting that he hadn't scored, which resulted in a Welsh scrum five metres from the Irish tryline.

Wales subsequently scored from the set piece through second-five Hadleigh Parkes, but it was the call by Biggar to notify the referee of his non-score that caught the attention of many onlookers.

Former Irish captain Jamie Heaslip, who was commentating the game, was among those full of praise for the 72-test veteran.

"Dan Biggar actually just came up to the ref and said 'I didn't get it', a rare thing you see from players," Heaslip said.

"I must commend Dan Biggar for that, making the call himself."

Plenty of fans also took to Twitter to voice their approval of Biggar's actions.

The match was both side's final pre-World Cup fixtures before the quadrennial tournament gets underway in two weeks' time.

Ireland begin their campaign against Scotland in Yokohama on September 22, while Wales get underway against Georgia in Toyota the following day.

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