Eddie Jones has come out swinging against television match officials, referring to rugby’s fourth officials as referees who cannot “cut the mustard”.
Jones was talking after naming a 36-player England squad for the November Test matches against Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa.
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The Australian stressed that staying in a referee’s good book will be crucial in the buildup to next year’s World Cup as he felt that match officials do not get enough support from the TMOs.
“The referees are under so much pressure now. They’ve got a failed referee in the grandstand – that’s the TMO [television match official],” said Jones. “It’s true, though, isn’t it? They are not usually old, they are usually blokes that have not been able to cut the mustard and they are telling the one on the field, who cuts the mustard, what to do.
“So, they [referees] are under pressure the whole time, everyone is listening to it. So, it is your ability to have a good conversation and find out how you can help the referee have a good game. Because if the referee has a good game, generally it is a good game.
“We want to play good rugby and we want the referee to have a good game, so it is understanding how can we help the referee have a good game and at the same time have a good game of rugby ourselves. I hope that there is no TMO that takes exception to that.”
Jones referred to French referee Mathieu Raynal’s decision to penalise Australia flyhalf Bernard Foley for time-wasting in the closing stages of the Rugby Championship clash between the Wallabies and All Blacks.
“One of the things that is really coming through, and I think we saw that in the Rugby Championship, is how important social reciprocality is,” Jones said, referring to Raynal’s controversial decision, which foreshadowed a last-gasp victory for New Zealand in Melbourne. “If they [Australia] didn’t have four players chirping at him in the whole game, then I don’t think Mathieu would have done that.
“But because they had [Wallabies scrumhalf] Nic White at him the whole time, then he says: ‘You’re not being very nice to me, so I’m not going to be nice to you’. It’s human nature, isn’t it?”
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