ACCLAIMED RUGBY REFEREE Nigel Owens wants to see fewer decisions referred to the Television Match Official (TMO) and the final say placed back in the hands of the referee.
Video referees were first introduced in rugby union in 2001 to rule on scores but their function has since expanded greatly to include the phases leading up to a try, and incidences of foul play.
An increased number of stoppages during a game is seen by many as a fair trade-off for a reduction in controversial decisions and refereeing errors on borderline calls.
But Owens, who refereed the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final, says the TMO is used “too often and for too many things.”
“Personally, I think we should go back to where it was five or six years ago where it was only on the goal line, ’Try: yes or no?’” he told Reuters.
Then, as a team of officials, we would have to work harder and be better at making the decisions that don’t involve the goal line. Things like obstruction, did he come in from the side, forward pass?
“There are so many things that can go either way and I think you’d probably find that if you make the decision and it’s not replayed then nobody argues with it.”
“I’m not sure if the TMO is eroding the referee’s authority but it is possibly eroding people’s perception of it,” he added.
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I’ve no problem with them in general. But some referees are over-reliant on them, terrified to make their own decision lest it be the wrong one. They’re extremely useful on marginal calls – maul tries, possible touch infringements. But spending 5-10 minutes going over every angle multiple times not only slows up the pace of the game, it also makes the ref look like a dithering fool.
If you look at Ben Whitehouse greatest moments and see where he gets a player red carded for throwing a punch when none was thrown you do need tmo for things like red cards. Ref didn’t even look for tmo to confirm yet a player was sent off wrongly
Tries, foul play, done
If Nigel Owen was referee for every match then this would be a possibility. However not everybody is at the level he is
@gary sheehan: so implement some sort of cloning?
Agree with you about Nigel Owen, not too many at his level, super ref has respect of all players and coaches, clear and precise explanations to captains. Reminds me of Roy Keane; never makes a mistake.
I’d take issue with you there as Owens was the man in the middle in Christchurch 2012 when he wrongly penalised our scrum for wheeling when we should have been awarded a penalty to win the game. Again in 2013 during the legendary endgame we were penalised for going in at the side when NZ took the legs out from under our maul prior to this. The man is an excellent ref but he’s human
Yeah I was a big proponent of them coming in originally but I’m getting mixed feelings. Refs use them far too often and usually give a stupid penalty even when there’s nothing wrong after spending 5 minutes looking at it
One problem is that TMOs seem often to be ex-referees who aren’t allowed to ref at the pro level any more and they then make the same sort of inexplicable TMO decisions to the refereeing decisions which made the authorities shuffle them on in the first place.
Another problem is that rules / protocols / laziness seem to prevent assistant refs from intervening to a suitable extent. They don’t seem to help refs by policing simple but vital things like:
- in front of the kicker at restarts
- in front of the back foot of rucks and mauls
let alone harder issues like:
- obstructing kickers
- non-blatant forward passes
- late tackles.
If soccer linesmen were as slack about spotting their offside as rugby linesmen are about spotting defenders in front of the back foot of a ruck, imagine how much grief the soccer crowds would give them !
Reffing is so hard that refs need all 3 other officials to be responsible for pre-arranged issues so refs can get on with their multiple tasks. For example, when a high kick goes up, one assistant should be primarily resp for spotting a late tackle on the kicker, the other should be primarily resp for watching the catching and the ref should be primarily resp for spotting obstruction as he can look up and down the pitch; whereas sometimes you get the impression that they all watched one aspect of the garryowen so nobody watched the other two aspects. Maybe they have arrangements like that; if so, we should be told !
Try? yes or no. Has there been foul play? The only two questions that should go to the TMO.
You need the TMO for foul play. Do we really want to go back to Schalk Burger only getting yellow for gouging Luke Fitzgerald?
One of the things I love about rugby is that it’s generally very fair, and having the TMO is a big part of that.
Exatcly shocked to see so many people giving it grief. It is used too much I agree but it is very important for the game and keeping it fair. How was the referee meant to know in the Canada when TOH tackled him on the line if it was a try or not?
In fairness that would be covered by the ‘try yes or no’ scenario that Owens is on about. I agree that I’d prefer a slightly slower, fairer game with video refs being used as they are now than a faster dirtier one.
Dear Nigel. You’re one of the reasons the TMO is absolutely required. As recently as the last RWC? Not too mention Christchurch? Nov 2013? One thing is for sure with Nige, All Blacks get the benefit of the doubt first, Oz second.
It should be used for any potential yellow/red card level offence which can be just as pivotal as a try. Honestly I have no problem with the level of TMO is being used currently, the level of scrutiny and fairness in rugby decisions is a huge attraction to the sport compared to others.
Nige is not innocent of over using the TMO himself but he’s only following the rules when he does so. Personally, I’d like to see the use of the TMO reduced but only in terms of the ref using his discretion more. I have no objection to dangerous play being punished, there was a time when they got away with murder and the use of TMO outfield has brought justifiable punishment in the moment rather than cited in the boardroom when it’s too late to matter and overall, it’s done more good than harm.
If he had used the facility of the TMO in the last World Cup we wouldn’t have been left with the horrific spectacle of him making up the rules as he went along and influencing the outcome of the competition based on his hunch. A bit rich from Nigel given the size of the fcuk up.