SANZAR referees' boss Lyndon Bray has defended Australian referee Stuart Dickinson's controversial decision to penalise Crusaders captain Richie McCaw in the last-minute of Sunday's Super Rugby thriller in Brisbane.

Dickinson's call to award Queensland a penalty in front of the posts at Suncorp Stadium after McCaw was ruled to have used his hands in a ruck allowed Quade Cooper to seal a potentially season-defining 17-16 victory.

McCaw's infringement has been dissected from the moment it was penalised and is destined to be one of the most talked about refereeing decisions of the season.

McCaw argued he legitimately picked the ball up after Ben Franks had successfully counter-rucked.

Bray reviewed the match today and felt the penalty was warranted, particularly after Dickinson warned McCaw not to touch the ball.

"Once you've said that there's no going back," he told NZPA.

"He's made it clear that he's ruling that as a ruck. If you slow it down frame by frame the ball's stuck in a ruck. I'm loath to say Stu's wrong, technically you can justify the penalty."

"It's a tough call to make on whether the Crusaders have driven far enough and cleared the traffic well enough to say it's now their ball. It's not an easy decision to make in real time."

However, Bray was critical of the match official's failure to notice a knock-on by Reds wing Digby Ioane in the lead-up to the final penalty.

Bray and Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder discussed Dickinson's officiating on Sunday night and were set to have another phone conference on Tuesday.

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