LONG READ How a solitary TMO hub could revolutionise how rugby is officiated

Things are going pretty well during my first stint as a Television Match Official. I have dealt effectively with a question around the grounding of a try by Maud Muir from England’s 59-3 win over Wales in the 2023 Women’s Six Nations, putting together a beautiful five-second loop of the incident from multiple angles for my imaginary referee who, I assume, is thanking me for my assistance.

Except now I look up at the live feed again and realise that I have completely missed not one but two high tackles -‘just letting the game flow’, I say to no one listening – leading to a burst of frantic prodding of the touch screen with such urgency that it must look as though I am trying to launch a rocket into space.

The good news is I will not be at the TMO controls moving forward, but a tour of the Hawkeye Innovations office just outside Basingstoke proved remarkably insightful, getting a glimpse into World Rugby’s current trial to base the TMOs for all matches under their jurisdiction in one hub moving forward. Think of a sport and Hawkeye has probably provided technological support for it, with an array of match balls from major football competitions covering one wall. They have been involved in rugby since 2012.

Officiating teams arrived during our session to cover the ongoing World Rugby Junior World Championships currently taking place in Georgia. We watch from the back of the room as Paulo Duarte prepares to be the TMO, alongside his camera operator and a foul play officer, for the game between Wales and Uruguay in Tbilisi.

It could spell the end for TMOs operating on site, in a box somewhere or set up in a truck outside the stadium, as has been the case in the past. And there are multiple reasons why this move, when you begin to unpack it, seems to make sense.

The first is environmental, reducing the number of flights around the world by having the TMOs operate out of one location, which is currently Basingstoke but in an ideal world will be based somewhere on the same continent as major tournaments – somewhere in Australia during next year’s men’s Rugby World Cup, for example. The NRL operates a similar system in rugby league, with one central hub in Sydney, while the Premier League’s VAR hub is located at Stockley Park.

While this means that TMOs miss out on travelling with the fellow officials to matches, the communication lines during games themselves are, of course, the same whether you are communicating with somebody in a truck or in another country. And it also takes costs out of the game which, as you can imagine, is a move that CEOs of the various unions supplying match officials to travel around the world eagerly support.

In the past TMOs have in a worst-case scenario pitched up to matches across the world and found themselves working with a camera operator who has never seen a rugby match before

The second and arguably more important reason is around consistency, not just around the TMOs but also the camera operators cutting up clips and trying to find the right angles when foul play occurs so that the TMO can then make a decision. In the past TMOs have in a worst-case scenario pitched up to matches across the world and found themselves working with a camera operator who has never seen a rugby match before, which makes instructing somebody to focus in on a certain ruck in a certain area of the pitch a far more long-winded process when the operator does not really know what they are looking for. The more immersed you are in the process, the more likely you are to quickly and accurately make the correct decisions.

The system I had a go on featured nine camera feeds from that 2023 Women’s Six Nations match at Cardiff Arms Park, including a camera in each corner, a tight and wide broadcast angle, plus a handheld camera and a high shot from behind. Plenty to work with, if you know what you are looking for. Technology developed by FIFA to create synchronised angles is also being brought into rugby to help speed up the process of reviewing any incidents.

By using a familiar rotation of teams out of Basingstoke or wherever, experienced operators can work with the consistent angles provided to them, and future TMOs and operators can also be trained up more efficiently by reporting to the same location. It also potentially offers a pathway for referees who have travelled around the world for over a decade taking charge of matches to remain in the sport without the time away from home and their families.

The prospect of any delays between feeds and communication with officials is also minimal. For example, the delay between Basingstoke and Chile for the recent Nations Cup fixture between Chile and Romania was 200 milliseconds, or 0.2 seconds. Far from disastrous.

Should for any reason the connection go down between the TMO and wherever in the world the game is being played, losing communication, then there is a backup system. Referees at each game have a tablet available on the sidelines which they can use in the event that they are unable to speak with the TMO. Referees can then go over to use the tablet and have access to the replays themselves to review any foul play.

These innovations are the first steps in a deep-dive review of this area. Not only will they aid on-field outcomes, but, significantly, they also support cost-effectiveness for the game.

Mark Robinson, World Rugby chief of rugby

Whether after a successful trial this system is implemented across all competitions in rugby is another matter. Other major competitions – the Six Nations, Nations Championship, European Champions Cup and domestic leagues around the world – cannot be mandated to adopt the system and would have to opt in.

“The use of officiating technology is one of the most debated areas in our sport,” Mark Robinson, World Rugby’s chief of rugby, said. “It is important for match officials, teams, competition owners and fans that rugby has a consistent, effective and efficient environment in place that can be trusted to deliver the right outcome without impairing the game flow and experience. These innovations are the first steps in a deep-dive review of this area. Not only will they aid on-field outcomes, but, significantly, they also support cost-effectiveness for the game.”

Time will tell if the trial is a success, but there are a number of logical reasons why it should be. One being that this writer will not be in the TMO hot seat.