Referees are failing to make consistent calls in real time
As is tradition for big games, a huge amount of discussion post the England v New Zealand match has centred around Sam Underhill’s late try being scraped due to Courtney Lawes charge down being from an allegedly offside position.
Whichever side of the argument you fall on – onside or offside – it’s unlikely that any amount of evidence is going to make you cede your position at this late stage.
Whether the call was correct or not, however, should no longer be the major point of discussion; the try was ruled out, the All Blacks held on to win the match and both teams will now be preparing for their next matches.
Instead, we should be discussing the general role of the TMO in matches and whether the rules around when the TMO can be called upon should be modified.
Ultimately, referee Jérôme Garcès called upon the help of Marius Jonker because England managed to touch down and seemingly score a decisive blow – but what would have happened if Underhill’s run hadn’t finished with a five pointer? Say that Beauden Barrett, the last man in defence for New Zealand, had managed to haul Underhill into touch five metres out from the All Blacks’ try-line – would Garcès have still sought Jonker’s opinion on whether or not Lawes’ charge down came from an offside position?
The safe bet is that Garcès would have let the match continue as it were, with Dane Coles having to throw in for an All Blacks’ defensive lineout – five metres out from his own try-line. We can only guess what would have happened from there.
A game of rugby can change in the blink of an eye – especially one as precariously balanced as this past weekend’s match. Small decisions can have big consequences. Why, then, are TMOs only making calls on big decisions, like whether or not a try should be allowed, when lesser calls can also change the course of a match?
Eagle-eyed viewers will be quick to point out that defensive lines are offside so regularly and it makes little sense to only penalise a team for being offside when it results in a big gain to said team. There are many small offenses regularly occurring in any one game of rugby that all add up over time but are not being penalised. Perhaps, then, we should be giving the TMO free reign to check for some of the offenses that should be fairly easy to spot from their viewing room.
The TMO is already allowed to alert the referee to any foul play they spot on the field – would increasing their powers negatively impact the game in any meaningful way?
An alternative, mooted recently by English head coach Eddie Jones, is that rugby could eventually employ dual referees in a similar vein to rugby league. Each referee could focus on one team – or one could focus exclusively on the offside line – ensuring grader awareness over what’s happening on the field without the need to slow down the game to regularly consult with the TMO.
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This approach has many upsides and places a greater onus on the men closer to the action. If players are creeping up over the offside line regularly throughout the game, they should be punished consistently – it should not take a potential try to raise the referee’s awareness of any illegal play.
Using dual referees is the type of solution that could, if deemed appropriate, be replicated at all levels of the game. No matter what powers we grant the TMO, this solution is never going to impact lower levels of the game where TMOs are not utilised.
In general, the use of TMOs is becoming more and more intrusive to the game – and taking rugby further and further away from its simple grassroots. After all, how much time did Marius Jonker spend analysing footage before he was willing to make a decision on the Underhill try in the weekend?
Of course, we don’t want to scrap the TMO altogether – but a balance must be found between having the right calls made in a game, and simply letting a rugby match flow. Perhaps the answer is to restrict not just when TMOs can intervene in a game, but also the powers they have available to them.
The Underhill decision took so long to make partially because it was a call that came down to miniscule details – multiple slow-motion replays had to be employed by Jonker in order to confirm where Lawes was standing when Perenara pulled the ball out of the ruck.
Slowing down game footage can obviously be useful, but restricting TMOs to only using full-speed replays would mean refereeing decisions have to be made only on what the eye can actually see.
Limiting the time that a TMO has access to replays for would also ensure quicker decisions and a better flow to the game. More often than not, results are no more conclusive after two minutes of examining footage than after the first check or two – so why are we wasting time that could be better spent?
At the end of the day, refereeing is a subjective thing. There is too much discretion offered in the laws of rugby and too much happening on the field for top referees to consistently make the same calls – at some point in time we will have to accept that the ‘right’ call is not always going to be made. Once we do, we’ll be able to spend less time thrashing through slow motion replays and more time making the most of the on-field action.
Watch: All Blacks duo Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick on lineout battle with Ireland
Comments on RugbyPass
Close games are what we want to see…. What a match it was…. I am sure that everyone was drained by the end of it. The reality of it all there has to be a winner and a loser. The fact that we still talking about it is almost 6 months to the day Rugby is the winner.. Asante sana… Here is to 2027 and what it will bring out.
179 Go to commentsIt’s going to be a good game. COYQ
1 Go to comments“Shock”, the guy was casually saying he was just slightly surprised. Nowadays if you say anything it gets taken completely out of context. Calm down everyone.
154 Go to commentsAll I can say after reading this bitter, sour, sad piece is… Thank you very much! This will be read in the change room just before kick off on 31 August…
179 Go to commentsLook, we know contradicting opinions and wacky comments bring readers and clicks, so well done to RP for allowing always-wrong-Ben to say something here. However RP needs to put a disclaimer next to his comments for their own credibility. NZ was and is incapable of acknowledging their opp beating them. They refused so with Ire and with Arg in 2022 and also the Boks in 2023 x 2. Nothing Ben says here holds water, NZ attacked backwards, except when Kolisi and Kolbe was off And cyncialy took out Bongi, we played without lineouts for 75mins. Kolisi and Kurt-Lee almost scored twice. Thats 3 vs 2 for Boks, but the Boks opportunities was legal. Boks should have been 16-3 up by half time. Tacticaly the Boks attacked better defended better scrummed better (without a hooker) kicked better and crossed the whitewash more times. Boks beat Fr Eng Nz to win in 23, comeon give some credit at least. Even Federer Verstappen NY Mets, Mamoa, was able to see a great human sport achievement by the Boks and their DNA Boks #RWC27 !🏉
179 Go to commentsForget the 85kg bit, that can become something else. However I do like the one off test on ANZAC day idea. SR plays Fri/ Sat, test players travel Sunday and the squads have the full week together before playing Saturday. Rest of SR has a week off. Either involve women's teams in same location or in the other country and rotate annually. Herbert is right in that change is needed.
3 Go to commentsI’ve read loads of nonsense before but this article takes the cake. Or perhaps someone changed the date for April Fool's Day.
3 Go to commentsReally Rugbypass? Ben Smith I think you forgot what the Springboks did to the All Blacks at Twickenham 8 weeks earlier? Springboks 35 All Blacks 7. There is alot of ifs and buts in your article. The All Blacks threw the sink at the Springboks and unfortunately they were not good enough regardless if they played with 14 men or not. It was the Springboks who forced the All Blacks to make mistakes! Sorry but not Sorry the Springboks is the best ever Rugby World Cup Nation in the world. 4 Cups baby!
179 Go to commentsYou just backed the Boks with that fantastic review! Well done! Have some cake!
179 Go to commentsBen Smith please write up something better than this. The Springboks would have won the world cup if you were 15 men on the field. They would have found a way, they always find a way to beat the All Blacks.
179 Go to commentsWow, there is a lot of “could have” and “ should have” in this waist of time dribble. I love the desperation in this story to search for a glimpse at a silver lining. Here are the facts, NZ was a badly coached and undisciplined shadow of their former glory. They never took the lead in a game they were never going to win.
179 Go to commentsGOTTA MAKE ‘THE GEORGE’ HAPPEN!!!! That’s a great idea! A trans Tasman midget battle on ANZAC Day. I don’t think the ABs Wallabies game should be a one off winner takes all though, just the first match with the other two later in the year with the RC. Reason being, no one will ever shut up about how aussies couldn’t win it when it was a 3 match series.
3 Go to comments@Ben smith. Thats knock out rugby. So honeslty who cares?
179 Go to commentsIt will interesting to know which Irish players said that…
2 Go to commentsNaaaww boys will be boys! Now run along ya wee scamp! Don’t let us catch you at again😏
1 Go to commentsGreat to have Ethan Blackadder back in the Crusaders in the last few weeks. One of the best all round loose forwards around. He played so well last week against the Rebels. Fantastic attitude Ethan has and his comments are spot on.
2 Go to commentsThe author is 100% right. The Springboks know that they don't have near the natural attraction, mana, skill and mystic the All Blacks have. So, Chasing the sun 1 & 2 was concocted to overblow the Boks image on the back of a corruptly obtained “win". It's marketing ploy to force the Boks delusion as the World's Best. I guess World Rugby is also not to be believed when it came out with an apology about how the final was officiated. And if the 2023 final such a superb game by the Boks, then the Boks crying about Referee Bryce Lawrence for decades is also deserves a laugh. Chase the sun and get burned like a moth. A very well written literary piece that tore the Boks and Chasing the sun farce to shreds. 🖤All Blacks🏉
179 Go to commentsI’d say France was far more hard done by in the 2011 final than the All Blacks in this game. Joubert simply refused to call a penalty against the All Blacks in the last quarter even directing an All Black to drop a ball he picked up in an offside position rather than penalizing him. This article also totally discounts the efforts of PSTD. Ask Jordie how well he played. Or the backup flank who played hooker for the entire game. Siya was also a brilliant tackle by Richie from scoring a blinder. Pollard was also fantastic. Look I don’t like the boks style but the only thing more questionable than the content of this article is the timing of it. Get over it already
179 Go to commentsDad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
2 Go to commentsWhat ifs are always dangerous. If you look at the game before Sam cane got sent of SA was dominating. You could make the argument the going down to 14 men rallied the troops and made them have to play to win which is always dangerous.
179 Go to comments