New TMO hub could be just what the doctor ordered – Andy Goode

World Rugby’s new TMO hub is what we’ve been crying out for since I can remember and we can only hope leagues around the world will adopt it too.

The global governing body may well already have had this lined up, given that it is being used in the Nations Cup and Junior World Championship this month, but the incidents in Bath’s defeat to Bordeaux in May were the straw that broke the camel’s back for fans.

Johann van Graan was right to highlight the system and role of the French television director in missing three high tackles on Alfie Barbeary in the Champions Cup semi-final and it’s a recurring issue that has been highlighted by pundits and coaches for a long time.

I was working on that game and took a bit of stick from some people for calling it out but that comes with the territory and I’m more than happy if they want to informally refer to the changes to the TMO process as Goodey’s Law!

In all seriousness, it’s something that is much needed in the sport and the new hub will give the TMO and the operator of the technology “all camera angles independent of broadcast direction”, as well as hopefully speeding up the decision-making.

The key word there is obviously “independent” and that has been the case with the process in the URC recently but not in the Champions Cup, Prem and other tournaments, something I don’t think a lot of supporters realised.

In those competitions, it is up to the TV match director, with the help of more junior members of the VT department, to show the officials as many angles as possible of an incident and at different speeds in order to get to the correct decision.

Clearly, that is easier in some cases than others and you don’t have to go to the nth degree and claim it’s all a conspiracy to help teams from a particular country win, although some people would, to suggest that is a flawed system and one that is managed better by some than others.

Mistakes can be made, of course, but the process has been a problem and if the likes of Brian O’Driscoll, Austin Healey and others who have worked with it for years are all saying the same, there’s probably something in it.

Hawk-Eye will deliver the new TMO hub, as they do in the URC, at their headquarters in Basingstoke and will provide split screen and zoom functionality for the officials as well, which should make it easier for decisions around scoring and in-touch.

They’ve famously been involved in tennis and cricket for a long time and we see a similar set-up to the new TMO hub with football’s VAR facility at Stockley Park, the NRL’s central hub in Sydney and the NFL’s New York-based replay command centre.

This could bring rugby in line with those sports and increase the speed, consistency and accuracy of decisions.

Alongside the technology, TMO and Foul Play Review Officer (FPRO) operators will now need to be properly qualified and there are minimum standards for international-level competitions to access TMO services that will need to be adopted by August 2027.

So, this should be in place for next year’s World Cup all being well and competitions are being urged to “adopt as soon as practically possible” by the global governing body.

In terms of domestic leagues and continental competition, it will obviously be up to the respective tournament organisers to decide what they do moving forwards rather than World Rugby but surely they would adopt this if it proves to be a success.

Similarly, the Six Nations, Nations Championship and Rugby Championship in the international arena are all run by different organisers but if this trial is successful, I can’t see any reason why they wouldn’t opt in.

Interestingly, as well as the overriding objective of improving consistency that is what everyone is after when it comes to officiating, World Rugby says these reforms are aimed at reducing overall investment for competition organisers.

If this option ends up being cheaper for tournament organisers, then they really won’t have any reason not to utilise it as the speed is there, with the delay between Basingstoke and Chile for the fixture they had against Romania recently just 0.2 seconds.

There is a backup system as well with referees being able to go to a tablet on the sidelines and access the replays themselves just in case communication goes down and they are unable to speak to the TMO.

Foul Play Review Officers operated remotely at the Rugby World Cup in 2023 so it isn’t entirely new for officials to not be on site in rugby and there will be environmental benefits as well as potential cost savings.

All eyes will be on the Americas and Georgia, where the Nations Cup and Junior World Championship are taking place, and hopefully there will be evidence of an increase in the speed, consistency and accuracy of decisions for everyone to see.

As always, the proof will be in the pudding but this looks like a move that the sport has been crying out for and Basingstoke is only up the road from me, so if there are any jobs going and the biscuits are up to scratch, Hawk-Eye and World Rugby know where I am!