Newman was called into action as the TMO in the 23rd minute after the Wales full back looked to have got his hand to the ball over the England line ahead of Anthony Watson to claim a try that would have enabled Wales to hit back after conceding two early tries to Jonny May.
“I still can’t understand why that isn’t a try to Gareth Anscombe and why the TMO didn’t award the try,” queried Gatland after his side’s 12-6 defeat.
“The wording was not clear on the grounding, but we’ve had a look from some different angles and it clearly shows that he gets his hand on the ball first and it is grounded.
“It was a big moment in the game to get a decision wrong, particularly in this game in front of 82,000. It would be nice to get some clarification afterwards.
“It was a tough game, particularly in the conditions. That made it difficult for us to move the ball, but I was proud of the effort in keeping them scoreless in the second half.”
Gatland’s opposite number Eddie Jones refused to be drawn into the controversy over the Anscombe try, but was happy to see his side continue their winning ways.
“I don’t get into disallowed tries. That’s why we have a TMO up there. He has got all the time in the world to make the right decision,” said Jones.
“It was a good test match, a real arm wrestle. Wales played very well, they are a tough team and full credit to them.
“They had a seven day turn around and we had a short turnaround so I’m really proud of what my boys did today.”
Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones was left ruing a few missed chances that saw his side leave with only a losing bonus-point rather than something more. They now have to move on to face unbeaten Ireland in Dublin in two weeks time.
“We were a bit slow out of the blocks in the first 20 minutes. Then we got a foothold and we felt we should have got more out of the opportunities we created in the second half with the intent we had,” said Jones.
“We just didn’t have the accuracy we had last week. A couple of grubbers in the corner if they had bounced a different way might have put a different shape to the scoreline.
“Hindsight never won a game or lost a game so we can’t dwell on what might have happened if the try had been awarded in the first-half.
“It was a patchy performance given the opportunities we created. We have got to build on those. We have got two weeks off now before we get into another big match.”
