The Wrap: Rugby has made an uncomfortable bed with TMOs

Round 11 of Super Rugby Pacific saw the spectre of TMO involvement rear its head again – fans frustrated on three separate occasions where rulings were made on tries long after play had moved on from the incident in question.

But were these examples of a system not fit for purpose, incompetent match officials or correct application of the available technology?

The three incidents were all different, albeit frustration levels were similar. In Mt Maunganui, Chiefs’ loose forward Lachlan Boshier was awarded a try an age after he scored it – long after referee James Doleman had originally called ‘no try’, and after the Force had come within a whisker of scoring at the other end.

In Brisbane, a second-half try to the Blues was rubbed out after TMO James Leckie alerted referee Jordan Way to a knock on by Hoskins Sotutu well down the field, and on Saturday, a brilliant Ardie Savea try was also ruled out; TMO Newman again tracking back a long way to identify a slight knock on in a ruck.

If one parks to the side the amount of time taken and whatever referees may have ruled or not ruled in the run of play, it’s fair to say that a technically correct decision was (eventually) made in all three cases.

If I’m not mistaken, isn’t that what fans, frustrated at copping dubious refereeing decisions against their team, have clamoured for, for years? ‘If the technology is available, use it to ensure we get decisions correct!’

Now, it seems that goal isn’t so desirable after all – especially if it means going back to call out an indiscretion that happened multiple phases before, rendering large chunks of play meaningless in the process.

This issue isn’t so much a failing of the lawmakers, but an example of what happens when a supposed fix to a law has unforeseen consequences downstream.

It’s all the fault of Wayne Barnes and Aaron Smith. In the 2023 World Cup final, the All Blacks had a try by Smith disallowed after Barnes – under guidance from his TMO Tom Foley – reverted back to a knock on made by the All Blacks at a lineout.

Despite Barnes twice calling “no knock on”, replays clearly showed the ball being propelled forward. In that most basic sense, it would have been ludicrous for a World Cup final to have been decided on such a ‘howler’, thus Foley and Barnes deciding to fix the mistake was entirely understandable.

Trouble was, the law as it stood permitted the TMO to rule on matters up to two phases back from a try being scored, not the four phases that occurred in Paris.

Here’s the rub; in this moment, rugby found itself in the incredible position of choosing between humiliating itself by allowing an obvious no-try to stand, because the TMO wasn’t licenced to use the technology available to him within the parameters set, or humiliating itself by permitting the match officials to wantonly operate outside of the game’s laws.

That’s a lose-lose situation if ever there was one. As a result, the arbitrary ‘no more than two phases back’ constraint was amended to allow TMOs to interject back to the previous restart of play.

Enter the next problem. Increasingly, it is not unusual to see periods of continuous play in excess of two minutes. That’s an awful lot of fertile ground for a TMO to work with when it comes to ruling off on tries scored.

What happened in these three cases on the weekend was nothing more than the current process being correctly followed, and the correct decision ultimately being reached – in accordance with the laws of the game.

Yes, it led to a lot of standing around, a lot of confusion because referees changed their mind upon viewing replays, and because of that, a lot of frustration.

But if that’s unpalatable, what actually is the alternative? Ditch TMO try reviews altogether and go back to playing Russian roulette on the referee’s sole judgment or – in some cases – their guesswork?

How long do we think that will last before there are multiple blow-ups from aggrieved fans and coaches?

By opting to introduce video replay technology, rugby has made its bed. As uncomfortable as it might be on some occasions, it now has to lie in it, and get on with accepting the imperfections that are inherent in the sport itself.

Another feature of the weekend was the continuing trend of attacking players being help up over the try-line; most notably the Blues in Brisbane and the Highlanders at home, in Dunedin.

The circumstances were slightly different – the Blues driving over the line into the bodies of defenders; the Highlanders being deliberately dragged over the line – but the frustration levels were equally high. And in both cases the defending Reds and Crusaders were rewarded for their alertness and composure.

It’s time for attackers to get low and get smarter. In their limited opportunities on attack the Brumbies showed how it should be done – body position and a support player adding his weight at the right angle, essential.

As is customary during Anzac round, each fixture was preceded by a formal ceremony recognising the sacrifice of Australians and New Zealanders in war. Each recognition was different, each was a solemn reminder of the importance of continuing to recognise serving soldiers past and present, and each helped reinforce the bond between the two countries, in rugby and in history.

Broadcasters Stan and Sky did their bit as well, conducting an exchange of commentators, with Morgan Turinui joining the Kiwi crew and Mils Muliaina appearing in Brisbane and Canberra. A great idea that was – Muliaina mysteriously describing the rain and sodden Suncorp turf as “perfect conditions for rugby” aside – well executed.

The round began with an entertaining match between the Chiefs and Force – won comfortably enough by the home side 56-22, but only after Harry Potter scored a remarkable try from a kick-off that the Chiefs had not bothered to ready themselves for.

This encapsulated everything sought by Super Rugby’s administrators via the current law variations. Teams have to be ready to keep playing at all times!

Not so positive for the Force was the absence of cover and scramble defence, with the Chiefs helping themselves to three tries via inside passes to trailing support runners.

All Blacks fans would have been delighted to see the return of Wallace Sititi, who wasted no time showing off his already trademark explosive running and stepping. And good luck to Super Rugby’s newest centurion Samisoni Taukei’aho, who faces a tough week in the gym working off all the chocolate he was loaded up with post-match.

Just like their last home match against the Brumbies, the Reds were out of the blocks quickly, leading the Blues 14-0. But this time they hung tough, off the back of stout goal-line defence and surprisingly – for a team with the worst lineout completion in the competition and their first-choice hooker missing – bossing the lineout.

Three of the Reds’ tries were from well-constructed play, slicing through the Blues inner-midfield defence, but they were helped by the largesse of the visitors. This was not the tight, impenetrable defensive line of a genuine title contender, but a damp squib offering of a side currently – and deserving to be – running ninth.

Full credit to Tate McDermott for grasping his running opportunity to score, but Blues coach Vern Cotter must have had conniptions watching Anton Segner vacate his post in the defensive line, devoid of the energy and intensity required at this level.

As well as being caught out playing too narrow, skill errors abounded; Kurt Eklund’s lineout throwing, Zarn Sullivan’s atrocious catching at the back, and Rieko Ioane, gifted a rare running opportunity on the overlap, shelling a good pass.

The Reds weren’t perfect, but they were more accurate and clinical when it counted; their strong 35-21 win making up for last years’ after-the-siren heartbreak at Suncorp.

Moana Pasifika weren’t totally convincing against the Drua in their 34-15 win, but always had enough in reserve to keep their finals hopes alive. While the disallowing of Ardie Savea’s individual try was a huge anti-climax, brother Julian scoring in the same corner immediately after, more than made up for it.

43-10 sounds like a comfortable day out under the roof in Dunedin for the Crusaders and that was true enough although, not for the first time this season, the Highlanders showed that there is a decent young team lurking in their ranks.

A bit more finesse near the try-line would have gone a long way to narrowing the score, as well as a method to stop Will Jordan, who continually confounds by his ability to make rugby look a much easier game than it actually is.

With discussion around a likely All Blacks squad starting to warm up, keep an eye on Christian Lio-Willie, who put in yet another strong shift at No.8. Yes, Sititi is back and will be an automatic choice, but at 26, Lio-Willie has taken his game to another level this year and may prove hard for Scott Robertson to ignore as a bench option.

Canberra hasn’t proved to be a happy hunting ground for the Hurricanes over the years, but on Saturday night they put that hoodoo to bed more convincingly than their 35-29 win over the Brumbies would suggest.

Time and again they found themselves on the front foot, probing narrow and wide, causing the home side to miss too many first-up tackles. With Cameron Roigard in supreme form at halfback, an impressive midfield in Riley Higgins and Billy Proctor, and human wrecking ball Kini Naholo out wide, this was a convincing and satisfying performance by the visitors – albeit some late skill and concentration errors left the door ajar for the home side.

But as they had been unable to do all night, the Brumbies couldn’t get the field position they needed from where to mount a final attack. Things might have been interesting if they had, given their excellent red zone conversion rate.

But that’s all woulda, coulda, shoulda territory. If the match officials hadn’t stopped the game and gone back an age to call out a couple of knock-ons and to clarify a grounding, then we would have got three different outcomes – all of which would have made for a faster game, but all of which would have been wrong.