Nigel Owens hits out at TMO use on eve of Six Nations
Former international referee Nigel Owens has told William Hill that rugby union’s TMO is used more effectively than VAR in football, but that he would like to see officials become less reliant on the technology during the upcoming Six Nations campaign.
Owens, who retired from international rugby in 2020 after taking charge of 100 Test matches, admits there are pros and cons regarding both the television match official and the video assistant referee, but ultimately he feels that the technology is being overused in rugby union.
“TMO works better than VAR in the way that people know what’s happening,” Owens told William Hill. “When you put a decision up in rugby, it’s explained and shown why the decision is given or changed so that everyone watching the game in the stadium or at home knows exactly why the try was disallowed because he’s knocked it forward. You may not agree but you know why the decision has been made, so it’s better in that context.
“In football, when you’re in the stadium you don’t know why the goal is disallowed. Fans can’t understand it, which is why they get frustrated because they think there’s nothing wrong with the decision, they haven’t seen it again. But if they had seen it again and the referee explained why you are offside, whether they agree with it or not, it’s offside. So, the TMO works better in that way.
“But the way it doesn’t work better is it’s used too much in rugby. Football use it much less than we do, though they can definitely use it more effectively like we do, so there’s pros and cons for both. Rugby is more understandable and easier to follow the decisions thanks to TMO, but it’s used too much. Football is using it far less than we do, although it’s a far less complex game.”
Owens added: “With the TMO, you need the technology if you want to get the big decisions right. There are some decisions that are humanly impossible for a referee. Did the ball actually touch his hand as he grounded the ball? You’re talking about millimetres. You don’t know that in real time which is why you need to check and that’s what the TMO is there for – to check the things that were impossible for the referee to see, to get those decisions right.
“But it’s not there to referee the game, or for the referee to check every single decision that becomes a try or foul play. It should be used as a last resort when you need it. If we can get back to doing that (in the Six Nations) then it will play an important part in the game. But at the moment, it’s becoming far, far too technical and it’s impacting on the game – too many stops and starts and games lasting two hours because of looking at things that don’t really need to be looked at.”
While Owens feels the TMO in rugby is being overused, he disagrees with claims that the sport has become ‘softer’ since the introduction of the technology.
“Rugby’s not becoming a softer game due to TMO, no certainly not,” he said.” When people look back and say, ‘oh the game has gone soft…’ It hasn’t, that’s for sure. The game is hard, it’s brutally physical. But what the game is now is cleaner. The people that say the game has gone soft are the people that 20, 30, 40 years ago were kicking somebody in the head on the floor, or putting a punch through from the second row into a prop’s face, or headbutting somebody… That’s not hard, that’s dirty. Those are cheap shots and cowardly actions.
“The game is cleaner now, it’s safer and better, but it’s certainly not softer. It’s still hard but what brings in the player safety issues are the big hits and tackles where you get it wrong and have a huge impact on the head. That’s not dirty, it’s the physicality of the game.
Owens won’t be refereeing at this year’s Six Nations, which gets under way on Saturday, and he admits he will miss not being involved in the action.
“My favourite Six Nations moments were always arriving at the stadium,” he said. “When you’re walking into the stadium and all the crowd are there waiting for the team to arrive, and then you walk out to warm up and the crowd and the atmosphere starts building…
“The special moment is walking out from the changing room with the two teams, walking out onto the pitch into the cauldron of noise and the anthems. Once you kick off, you’re in the zone and everything else doesn’t matter. But that build-up to the first whistle, that’s the most special thing and that’s what I miss. I don’t miss the refereeing camps and all the travelling and the pressure of refereeing and the training. I miss that build-up from arriving at the stadium to kick-off, that really is something special.
“I remember 2018 up at Murrayfield (when Scotland beat England 25-13), the only Calcutta Cup I did. There was a little feeling in the air that Scotland could beat England that day. The stadium was buzzing, the crowd outside, the atmosphere…
“The atmosphere that day was something very, very special. It was special to be part of that. And that’s what makes the Six Nations so special: the spectators, the crowds, the atmosphere.”
As for this year’s tournament, Owens is tipping France for glory and feels the Stade de France will play a pivotal role.
“France are the favourites for good reason due to their form,” he said. “The reason I would say France is because the way the fixtures have fallen… England and Ireland have got to go to Paris, and I just can’t see France lose those games at home.
“Paris is the most hostile Six Nations stadium I refereed at. When the French aren’t happy with you, which is quite often when you’re refereeing, they definitely do let you know. It can certainly be pretty hostile there.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Sounds like quite a bit of development has occurred regarding Mo’unga’s situation. Either NZR has stepped up their offer (big time) or RMo has had a reality check on what it will be like to be outside of the high performance environment of AB rugby. Maybe both. It reads like there are only a few remaining details to be sorted out before it is a done deal.
1 Go to commentsCurrently, a prop that has been substituted can go back on field if his original replacement gets injured. Can a red carded prop go back if his replacement gets injured, or will it be uncontested scrums?
11 Go to commentsWhat about a free kick from a scrum? Can you call another scrum? Or are they just giving straight penalties now?
28 Go to commentsLoved that comment by Andrew that the ‘water boys’ rule was changed in 2020 just to stymie the Boks!
28 Go to commentsOne of the best the Boks have ever produced. PSDT has an engine that goes non-stop for the full 80 min.
5 Go to commentsThe real deal.
5 Go to commentsIt’s been said that Nienaber will head back to SA too before next World Cup , hoarding all the amazing IP gained in Irish system … get a grip … Irish system needs to Milk the likes of Barrett . First time a leading all Black in his prime has gone to Ireland for any period of time . Enjoy it .
20 Go to comments20 min RC is the only good solution of a bunch of bad solutions. Ridiculous that it has taken this long and caused so many uneven contests. In general these are all very good changes - one is surprised that NH brokers were able to see sense at long last.
11 Go to comments“While a red card will mean a temporary team disadvantage, the replacement system will focus punishment on the offending player instead of disrupting the game itself.” This might work for amateur rugby, where players just want to be on the pitch for as long as possible, but hopefully we’ve got to a point where top level professionals care about the success of their team much more than about whether they personally are on the pitch or not.
11 Go to commentsa lot of focus on the targeting of south africa, but aspects of this are positive. The croc roll; the offside law; and time limits on set pieces are all good. calling for a mark off kick offs is baffling, but I guess we’ll see how it plays out in practice
28 Go to commentsSpeeding the game up is great, but I think we will find that the increase in viewership this year mostly comes down to the competition being more competitive…the fall of the Crusaders has been a boon for viewership. This should be at the heart of super rugby changes - how to make the comp more even
23 Go to commentsThe fact that the press were largely to blame for his taking a break is nothing short of disgusting. He’s made a few mistakes but difficult to name a player of any substance who gives it a full go hasn’t also made mistakes? On behalf of a large number of Bokke fans, bring back Farrell !!!!!
1 Go to commentsPSTD is a fantastic flanker. He could benefit from a bit of self-promotion / flair and he is not quite the danger man that Ardie is. That said, he is my 1st pick to build a backrow around. His speed and hustle made up for Duane who got quite a bit slower at the 8.
5 Go to commentssurprised, disco lights haven't been banned by world rugby board
28 Go to commentsToo many changes. Too often. I’m tired of this WR administration. How do we vote these fockers out? Bill needs to go.
28 Go to commentsDu Toit, 2 time W.Cup winner yet rarely mentioned a “Great “…if one looks back on his stellar carrier perhaps someone will one day elevate him to “Richie” status…a quiet, polite yet devastating loose forward that knew action speaks louder than words..
5 Go to commentsI like the offside rule, but this won't affect my team because all their kicks gets chased and that putts everyone on side. Lekker manne!
28 Go to comments20 minute Red Card is untenable. If you don’t punish the whole team, coaches won’t be sufficently incentivised to pick players with, or coach better tackle technique.
11 Go to commentsI can only think of One time ever a team has opted for a scrum from a free kick… Why the law change I wonder
28 Go to commentsYeah, its not going to work. But we see you World Rugby.
28 Go to comments