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| Photo by Premiership Rugby |
Is it Christmas?
Well with the
excitement and expectations of a more competitive Premiership Rugby season soon
to unwrap, it certainly feels like it, and I take the chance to look at the
TMO.
The TMO can create
suspense, drama, disappointment or elation, and in some instances, as in last
season – bewilderment and disbelief.
For those
people who have never seen a rugby union match, the TMO is the Television Match
Official. And with the best intentions
of fairness, the TMO has been used in rugby union since 2001.
A person sits
in a studio in the stadium, or in an outside broadcast van if the match is
televised, and watches replays of incidents - usually potential tries but also
forward passes and infringements that can lead to warnings, penalties and cards
– attempting to clarify exactly what did happen.
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But they aren’t always consulted and the decision to consult is down to the referee.
I remember one incidence where the referee consulted the TMO regarding a line-out and the TMO informed him that there was no time - the match finished prematurely, 9 seconds early - robbing a team of a chance to reverse the match outcome.
Then another
incident happened where the TMO decided on a ‘No Try’ and the referee overruled
him and awarded the try anyway.
‘Then
six minutes from half time Leicester scored their second controversial try as a
driving maul pressured the home side back, enabling Leicester’s tight head prop
Logovi’I Mulipola to crash the ball over the line. However, with referee JP
Doyle going to the TMO, it was clear to see the ball was held up but the
referee gave the try anyway.’
And then of
course there is the ‘crooked feed’ conundrum;
‘And there you have it, the moment we
were all waiting for, an official to make an irrational decision to penalise Gloucester
‘Gloucester restored their pride today
but this episode begs the question, if TMO's are called upon to verify what did
happen, when can they be called upon to clarify what didn't happen? Discuss.’
Not
to mention the TMO decisions of the Aviva Premiership Final which have been
described as a ‘shambles’ by Saracens Chief Executive Edward Griffiths where it
took four minutes to award Northampton's winning try and there were also two
disallowed tries. (One actually awarded - points on the board - and then
reversed).
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'On closer inspection by Graham Hughes the TMO, the pass to Farrell was ruled forward, the try was disallowed and the score reversed. Disbelief and shock swamped the Saracens supporters, not to mention the players. Farrell hobbled off with a leg injury.'
As a rugby
player and a fan, I’m sure that the whole rugby family would like to see consistency,
fairness and a clear demonstration of attempts to ensure fairness.
The effort
and commitment of such a physical and sometimes dangerous game for these professionals
deserves no less.
And as the global
trial of TMO conducted by the IRB comes to an end in August, are there any better solutions?
But this
isn’t a viable solution for rugby because of the length of the try line and
differing nature of each different try.
Hawkeye believes its technology can significantly increase the speed of decision-making in rugby and its' technology consists of cameras at multiple angles which can synchronise within a few seconds. Information about whether the ball crosses the line is provided by computer tracking but still video replays would be needed to judge grounding.
With the ever growing audiences for rugby and the World Cup around the corner, with so much at stake, would it be an exciting, professional and positive move forward?
Hawkeye believes its technology can significantly increase the speed of decision-making in rugby and its' technology consists of cameras at multiple angles which can synchronise within a few seconds. Information about whether the ball crosses the line is provided by computer tracking but still video replays would be needed to judge grounding.
Paul
Hawkins, Hawkeye’s founder, states that the system is a much cleverer way of
looking at incidents and in Aussie rules, it has halved the average time in
which decisions are made.
He has also stated that the company are in conversation with Premiership Rugby
and the IRB regarding the product. But
of course, the Hawkeye system would be much more expensive than the current TMO
system which uses the existing TV feeds.
With the ever growing audiences for rugby and the World Cup around the corner, with so much at stake, would it be an exciting, professional and positive move forward?
Aviva
Premiership Rugby, the RFU and IRB are committed to doing everything in their
power to make sure they help the match officials get every decision right. And of course they became the first league in
the world - at considerable cost - to introduce the Television Match Official
into every match, not just those that are televised live.
So will rugby union be using
this technology anytime soon?
Well this
is rugby, it’s not tennis; one ball, one line - or football; one ball, one
line. Sometimes it’s a ball, a line and
a body, but a lot of the time it’s a ball, a line and a lot of bodies and
that’s where the problem lies (pardon the pun). So maybe the right decision is
to keep the TMO.
And
until someone designs technology that can confirm the ball has crossed the line
coupled with ‘in-ball’ technology which detects a ‘grounding’ along with ‘whose
hand was on the ball when it was grounded?’ Are we ever going to be satisfied
that we have found a coverall solution?
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| Photo by Premiership Rugby |
And what
are a few minutes anyway if the outcome is the fair and accurate one in the
end? Sometimes it’s quite fun; fans
start talking to each other, take selfies, discuss the vagaries, get to know
each other, and it gives the players a well deserved breather too.
But
at other times as we all know, the communication between the referee and TMO has
appeared totally inconsistent and the game can come to a grinding halt.
The
anomalies that seem to need to be addressed are the human ones at ground level:-
To
take the decision of the TMO or overrule it?
Or
to use the TMO to verify a crooked feed?
Or
to consult or not to consult - Try yes or no?
These
are the questions.