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Dear World Rugby. I’m writing this letter because I love the game of rugby. Today I am a spectator but have played at elite amateur level, coached, and refereed.
I love the game, however recently I have become increasingly disillusioned by the way the game is being officiated.
Test match rugby football should be the pinnacle showcase of the game. It no longer is. Test matches have become slow, confusing, stop-start in nature. I am concerned that while World rugby is trying to make the game safer it is destroying its essence.
You only have to read social media posts from supporters around the world after a Test match to see that my opinion is not a unique one. Fans around the world are left scratching their heads at referee decisions and frustrated at the stop start nature of the game.
My observations were brought into stark focus while watching the Springbok versus Argentina test on Saturday 18 September where the Stan broadcast feed (in Australia) included the Referee/AR/TMO radio conversations
After watching and listening to that I am now 100% convinced the there are two issues in Test rugby: the law making and primarily the officiating. We now have 4 referees on the field. The Referee, two assistant referees (ARs), and a TMO. All are inconstant radio contact inspecting and commenting on every aspect of play and finding mostly justifiable (albeit incredibly pedantic) reasons to stop play.
At club level most of these would be missed by the average referee. On the face of it that may sound good, no one can get away with any foul play or infringement, however Test rugby for over 130 years was played full of errors and no TMO! Most rugby today is played with one Referee and if lucky, a club volunteer as an AR. None of them wired up to talk to each other.
The real-time collaborative, inspection of four pairs of eyes is destroying the game. Without setting out do so the referees are expecting perfection in an imperfect sport. Let’s get back to the core essence of rugby and rugby officiating. The referee should be the sole adjudicator. The TMO must have his wings clipped to ONLY provide an additional set of eyes when requested by the referee and ONLY in 2 situations, clarifying grounding the ball in try scoring situation and confirming foul play upon request of the ref.
The TMO must have NO ability to interfere and stop play – no exceptions. Rugby League do this today in Australia, successfully. The ARs need to manage the touch line. That’s it.
Taking this approach will result in several small infringements being missed. Things were missed on the Test match field for over 100 years and that was ok. Things are missed every weekend at club matches where there is no TMO, that’s ok! Let’s get back the imperfection that made the game beautiful. When last did you see a 16-phase sequence in a test match. I can’t recall the last time – four sets of eyes are finding every miniscule infringement and reason to stop the game.
While the laws, interpretations and officiating may be set up to make rugby safer, the unintended consequences of the empowered AR and TMO is killing the game!
What can be done? A rugby friend asked what you would do if you were running world rugby. Here are my immediate recommendations:
Officiating
1. TMO may not stop play or make any comments to the referee unless requested by the referee.
2. TMO may only provide more information in two situations: ball grounding in a try scoring situation and foul play.
3. Assistant Referees may only adjudicate on side-line related infringements. Touch and touch in goal.
The other issue is how do we speed up the game:
1. Scrums. Max 2 collapses. If unclear of the cause, a scrum free kick is awarded. Mandatory tap and go, no scrum reset permitted.
2. In a penalty situation no scrum option available.
3. “Shot clock” for all conversions and penalties. From the time the referee awards the penalty or try:
a. Penalties:
– 15 secs for non-shots on goal (penalty kicks for touch)
– 45 secs for penalty shots on goal
– 60 seconds for try conversions
4. Knock-on infringements: Team in possession has the option for an immediate tap and go (no need to consult the ref) or waiting to set a scrum. Lots of lessons can be taken from other codes like field Hockey that have radically sped up the game through this type of rule.
Yours sincerely
A rugby tragic.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.