It’s time for on-field match officials to make decisions and stop relying on the TMO, writes SIMON BORCHARDT.
Three minutes and 35 seconds. That’s how long it took the match officials during Saturday’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship game between the Emirates Lions and DHL Stormers at Ellis Park to determine if Jordan Hendrickse had made a dangerous tackle on Paul de Wet.
After seven TV replays and numerous angles, including one that had to be requested from the broadcaster, the officials ruled that Hendrickse’s “swinging arm” had made indirect contact with De Wet’s head and flashed a yellow card. (It came as a surprise to SuperSport commentator Gcobani Bobo who had predicted red, which shows what a mess this has all become, but I digress …)
That was one of the shorter breaks to check foul play to which we’ve been subjected since the deployment of World Rugby’s safety police. It can sometimes take five or six minutes, depending on the tackle, the video footage and the officials’ aptitude.
Add those foul-play referrals to those to check if a try has been scored, a pass went forward, a player was ahead of the kicker or obstruction took place in a maul and you have rugby matches that take two hours to complete. Sure, things like water breaks, scrum resets and injuries all play a part in that, but the biggest disruptor of a game these days is the TMO.
TMO referrals could perhaps be justified if the officials always made the right decision, but how many times have they watched a dozen replays and still got it wrong?
Stormers prop Sazi Sandi’s red card for a head clash with Edinburgh’s Jamie Ritchie is a prime example (his three-match ban was overturned on appeal).
Friday – Johan Goosen ?
Saturday – Sazi Sandi ?#BULvCON #STOvEDI @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/HJd8o5wOnb— SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) October 2, 2022
Remember the days when players and fans could celebrate a try when it was scored? Now there’s inevitably a quick double blast on the referee’s whistle as he goes upstairs to check something with the TMO that took place during the buildup, sometimes several phases earlier at the other end of the field.
As the role of the TMO has grown over the years, so match officials have become less accountable for what happens on the field. An assistant referee was standing right in line with a pass, but let’s go upstairs to check if it went forward. Cue another break as the broadcaster tries to find the best angle.
Technology has worked well in cricket and tennis because they are black-and-white sports. The bat was either short of the line or on it when the bails were dislodged and the batsman is out, or it was over the line and he’s in. The tennis ball was either inside or touched the line or it wasn’t. In this case, Hawk-Eye doesn’t lie.
Rugby, though, is a game of grey. Laws are ‘interpreted’ by referees instead of being strictly applied and an inconsistent TMO process results in different outcomes. A tackle that one referee or TMO regards as a yellow-card offence can be deemed a red by another.
After Ireland beat the All Blacks in Dunedin this year, England coach Eddie Jones slammed the officials for producing three yellow cards and a red card during the first half (All Blacks prop Angus Ta’avao was sent off for going into an attempted tackle “too upright” and colliding heads with Ireland centre Garry Ringrose).
“We’ve got to get a better balance in the game,” Jones said. “There’s a rhythm to how rugby is looked at and officiated and we’ve got to get in a good rhythm again. We don’t have it at the moment. Every time we get a flow in the game, there’s a stoppage.
“We’ve got to keep the game safe, don’t get me wrong,” he added, “but accidental head contact and this incessant use of the TMO – we’ve got to cut that out.”
The simple solution to this problem is to drastically reduce the TMO’s role. The TMO should only be called upon to help determine if a try has been scored (ie in-goal area only). All other incidents, including foul play, must be ruled upon by the on-field officials. If foul play is missed, the player can be cited after the match and suspended if found guilty.
Mistakes will, of course, be made by the on-field officials, but at least they will be accountable for their actions and the game will flow.
