One thing’s for sure after the Rugby World Cup in France: many fans aren’t going to see their sport in the same light again, thanks to the bunker.
No, not the bunker mentality, of the England kind, to eke out wins, but the TMO’s high-tech man cave. Like it or not, TMOs will come into play more than they have ever done. It’s not a case of if it’ll happen, but when.
In fact, it may be a role reversal where the TMO and techno geeks will become the conductors of the orchestra unfolding in the rugby union arena.
The “rock-and-roll” gadget geezers will overshadow the whistleblower who will mutate into the symbolic role of a governor-general performing ceremonial duties.
The Bunker wallahs will assume the mantle of parliamentarians, tapping jog wheels and tag pads on split screens to make sense of acts while the viewers will groan. Yep, the TMO will be prime minister.
For those who cuss every time the ref blows his whistle — before the AR1 and AR2 flank him — for digital intervention from the TMO’s lofty perch, it’ll become the norm.
No matter what corner fans favour, they’ll appreciate the value of that half yellow/red card as the show goes on. The bunker will milk it for hang time. Now, that’s total fan engagement.
From the time the offending player’s bottom hits the naughty chair, the bunker has ten minutes to determine if the act has breached the standards of recklessness. Are there any “mitigating factors”?
The player/coaching stable will sweat bullets on every second of the deliberation, scrambling for plans B and C. On receiving the TMO’s feedback on the earpiece, the referee will wait for a break in play to relay the news.
Siya Kolisi tackles Ardie Savea. (Photo by David Ramos – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)
You see, it’s not a novel concept. The Roman emperors used such tactics at the colosseums, even before the BC era. A condescending thumbs down/up was used to send the great unwashed into ruptures on the fate of gladiators.
Slow on the uptake, World Ruby is beginning to recognise the bunker’s worth. Actually, the credit should go to its poorer cousins, rugby league. It comes with the realisation that the pragmatics don’t yearn for perfection. They simply want consistency. Perfection is mythical.
Easier said than done. Parallel decisions will keep the four-point control on its toes. The ref can’t turn his back on one team while watching the other side like a hawk. It’s not far-fetched to do what the NRL does — have a whistle-blower in each half.
“Unconscious bias” will remain for “the good”. Its conscious, entrenched trait will make parochial fans spew tacks on a TMO’s perception of culpability — cynical? Malicious? Reckless?
YouTube is now littered with “analytical gurus” highlighting and accentuating slow-motion replays to apply laws to discredit refs as “Is this the worst-ever officiating?” The bunker will rise above them.
The smart bird’s-eye view will become the domain of the TMO. When a captain starts badgering a ref with an alternative view, there’s the imminent danger of holding up play but the geeks will negate that.
From the players’ perspective, there’s such a thing as gamesmanship (not to be confused with sportsmanship) where they’ll skirt the boundaries to push the officials’ limits of interpretation.
For argument’s sake, unofficial video analysts will paint a halfback as a victim when, in reality, he has a penchant for milking penalties by rifling his passes into retreating opponents or the ref.
Is that cheating or gamesmanship? The officials’ portfolio will demand accountability and transparency. The bunker will enter the domain of psychiatrists. Those who think rugby union is free of Hollywood acts … think again.
Grinning, no-arms tackle merchants’ facial expressions will speak volumes. A poker face will help. Anyone contemplating faking an injury to put an opponent under a yellow-card cloud will have to be a convincing actor.
For the it-ain’t-Tiddlywinks-brigade, the head injury assessment (HIA) protocol will become non-negotiable. Professional clubs will question the roles of hitmen on national duties against their contracted players.
World Rugby will need to walk a tightrope to ensure it doesn’t lose its balancing act. No doubt, bolstering the bunker will be its insurance cover. Players will leave in droves? Nah. It’s too exciting.
Fruitpicker
Roar Rookie
I agree but my article is playing the devil's advocate. :laughing: I'm trying, albeit terribly, to be Nostradamus here. Nothing like this may eventuate. Let's see what the think tank of World Rugby will do.
Fruitpicker
Roar Rookie
Some great suggestions, Spew, although they may be wasted here. While I don't agree with clipping the TMO's wings, the fatigue factor would separate the chaff from the wheat, as it were. The only issue is it's just a matter of time before other nations start adopting the Boks' forward-heavy benches with 7-1 splits, or close to that. Two fresh sets of battering rams will maintain intensity of collisions. It reminds me of equine sports enthusiasts complaining of fans only want to see riders topple of their perches. That sternum base will work, too, but it'll take generations of unlearning to change that mindset. Longer suspensions trump fines because the latter will play into the hands of top-tier nations and penalise the "minnows" twice.
Spew_81
Roar Rookie
I think a middle point could be that the TMO can only proactively offer an opinion for tries e.g. grounding/in touch etc. Otherwise, the TMO should only get involved if the referee asks them. This would reduce 'rest breaks', bring fatigue into play; this will change the bulk/fitness trade off which will reduce the energy in collisions. Other ways to reduce high tackles is to: Lower the tackle height to the base of the sternum; penalty for above the base of the sternum to the top of the shoulder; and to give longer suspensions and fines for incidents that go to the judiciary e.g. six weeks, no reduction to three or two weeks.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Oh and absolutely annihilate publically and officially any coach or player who post match has a dip at the ref ....Cheika one example ..Take them out the sport... they dont belong because its these guys that are feeding poison to already disappointed supporters with keyboards ....Luckily they never make mistakes do they :unhappy: ....I know its after the fact but SA Rugby has taken an official policy decision even before this WC to never criticize match officials again......Never ..Wont happen again neither from management or players ..Others should follow suit.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Yes ....The treatment of Barnes was a blight on the game ..Actually I am very angry about it ..When Rassie posted his video on Nic Berry as a South African I was both astonished and appalled ..The regular Roarers know my position ..From the outset I called him out ..The implications for Berry getting threats to him and his family via social media and my educated guess is most were my fellow countrymen was just not on .Likewise what we have seen with Barnes ..The World's best ref by common consensus is not immune is he ?.This is not just a debate ...It has to be halted ...I like some of your suggestions ..But it has to be nipped in the bud now ....Start with debunking the bunker and lessening the influence of TMOs ..Yes they are here to stay but let the ref be a part of the match not an accessory.
Fruitpicker
Roar Rookie
I agree with you, Footy Franks, that acting will not only become the norm but has been there for some time but fans are more prone to trivialising it by portraying soccer as the bigger sin. I had once called out Richie McCaw for acting in a match against the Wallabies in a Bledisloe Cup encounter. Having copped a knee from Quade Cooper to his head, a concussed McCaw sat there dazed until a medic ran out, got down on his knee to say something. Nekminit, McCaw was rolling his arm. Moving on, a player can fake an injury, or contact lens issue, to buy his gasping forwards some time to suck in a few big ones. Even waterboys running with messages from coaches. That requires a different level of policing. Where I disagree is players dropping their heads to milk red cards. No one in their right minds will risk their health for brain injuries down the road. With all the clinics players attend, their spouses will be in their ear every night about staying healthy to watch their children and grandchildren grow into adults.
Fruitpicker
Roar Rookie
It's a catch-22 situation. It started out to assist refs but, invariably, the grey areas of interpretation would never gift the whistleblowers time to clarify matters without disrupting play. On the flip side, when the TMO/bunker assume the role of verifiers beyond the ambit of laws (that is, mitigation), then the whistleblowers will become rubber stampers. The jury (us cheap seats) will always howl "guilty" or "not guilty", depending on our emotional state and who we're aligned with. For that reason, I won't offer my verdict on Cane accept to state that how Barnes was treated, from as early as the 2009 RWC quarterfinal, is abhorrent and an article for another time.
Fruitpicker
Roar Rookie
:laughing: thanks
Fruitpicker
Roar Rookie
With little knowledge of Aussie politics I'll wade past your well-intended analogy accept to say that the halcyon days of politics will also never return. owing to the change in demography, indigenous community's voice, gender equality, etc. Needless to say, cricket is the national sport. Despite the intrusion of technology, safety gear and reducing bouncers to one an over, fans have remained loyal to the No.1 code. Correct me if I'm wrong, Sheek. To suggest the public always have the power to say no to WR intrusion is tantamount to saying the disgruntled nations should break away to form a rebel union. Is t apathy or the fear of fragmentation that keeps every stakeholder in check?
Fruitpicker
Roar Rookie
I don’t follow NFL but that sounds similar to cricket teams having 2 batting and bowling challenges for dismissals. If proven correct, they retain it. Otherwise they’re forfeited and the umpires remain the sole judges for the rest of the innings. I don’t think it’ll ever work in contact sport. Once two challenges are gone, the side still having 1-2 left or none will make it open slather for crazy antics. With brain-injury concerns, WR will remain nonplussed on the grounds of legal ramifications. Besides, it seems most fans are against stoppages of most kinds. It did make me chuckle to see teams give quarter-time breaks due to heat at the RWC. Will all-year-round summer nations received quarter-time warm-drink and steaming-facecloth breaks in similar fashion during harsh winters?
Fruitpicker
Roar Rookie
:stoked: Now, The Ferret, you're straying into the realms of corruption and the bookmakers' irresistible lure. That isn't to say that rugby union is immune to such afflictions. It simply means every official and player will come under scrutiny. It happens in cricket and soccer but are other codes trying hard enough to police their protagonists? I used to hear of referees receiving diamond-encrusted and gold watches after crucial matches a few devades ago. Nothing had emerged.
Fruitpicker
Roar Rookie
While I've lauded Owens' interpretation of the laws at the RWC in his videos, Andrew Nichols this smacks of the Welshman showing his whistleblowing fraternity he's in its corner. As I state in this article, the whistleblowers' role will become more ceremonial but Owens' concerns seem to suggest his former peers will become relics in a rugby museum.
Footy Franks
Roar Rookie
Yeah France and the Boks were the most professional or insistent on the red to check the tmo. The French did a bit of acting and players now dip their heads into tackles to get a red card for the opp. Acting skills will be the norm in this pro age.
Andrew Nichols
Roar Rookie
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/133237838/former-referee-nigel-owens-slams-state-of-game-after-rugby-world-cup-controversies " The other issue then is technology and the bunker. It just feels like the TMO is refereeing games at the moment and that's not right." Nigel Owens.
James in NZ
Roar Rookie
Is it NFL where you can call time out? Maybe each team in rugby s given 2x times the team captain could ask for a TMO review, would be something? In the case of the ref missing something.
James in NZ
Roar Rookie
Pardon me being a bit myopic with my examples. I thought the first RC Tom Curry received was also farcical. I also thought the Vaea Fifita RC v Scotland (which I did catch) just looked like a border line no arms tackle. I keep hearing people say re officiating, that you'll never get it perfect, so he best we can hope for (like we currently have) is that the howlers balance out for each side. Which kind of sucks. My Elon Musk vision for perfect officiating would probably lead to 6x RC per game too, which wouldn't be fun either. I guess it would force the players to tidy up their techniques. It's a full contact sport, professional so money is on the line. We increasingly have 6'5" 120 kg guys crashing into each other and you can even get concussions from waist height tackles. Its complicated for sure.
Keith (no longer) of WA
Roar Rookie
Aaah Sheek... the saying goes 'the great unwashed' always get it right... but I agree with you... 2013 I was aghast the night Rudd conned Australia.... but sure enough Australia fixed it... Even with the Voice, (and I know I run the risk of my comment being deleted again) and opening up a firestorm... but the truth is SOME of us remember and know why ATSIC is no longer and the debacle of the West Aussie cultural heritage laws being scrapped was, in my view 'a bullet dodged'..... Unfortunately (unlike a referendum or politics) with sport we don't get a say.... we don't get to do majority rules in any way.... but I guess that's the sport of it eh?
Keith (no longer) of WA
Roar Rookie
No problems… Here’s food for thought for WR… a game that takes 3 HOURS to play… is stop start… has multiple refs… NO TMO… gets 26 MILLION viewers (on one game) on a weekly basis… and the last superbowl got 115 MILLION (yes that’s outrageous)….1….1…5…. MILLION viewers…. Even a college game gets over 100,000 people turning up the night BEFORE the game to practice cheering and have a party (tail gating…)….. WR has a lot it could learn…..
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
re your PS: I use a keyboard and hit "enter" twice. Seems to work to work okay, at least on my confuser.
sheek
Roar Guru
Keith & Fruitpicker, Both excellent posts. I often reflect how the Aussie electorate has got every post-WW2 federal election right, with 2 possible, tiny exceptions, 1961 & 2013. In 1961, Calwell lost to Menzies by a seat, but he was effectively unelectable. But a short 3 year tenure in 1961 by Calwell may have helped make Whitlam's assent in 1972 less frenetic than it was, Labor gaining power after 23 years in the wilderness. 2013 saw a tied result & Gillard-Rudd govern with a minority. It was a disaster. It would have been better if either Gillard or Abbott had a majority. Nine years of Coalition was wasteful. Albo & Labor provides no better confidence going forward. Both referendums in 1999 & 2023, which I supported, failed. And the result each time was correct. After 25 years we sill don't know what kind of republic we want, so we don't have the maturity to become a republic. Yet. The Voice was lost because it was poorly explained. We don't trust pollies at the best of times, & even a noble idea such as the Voice required proper explanation. But on the other hand, the sporting public accepts so much crap. Why do we tolerate the intrusion of the TV bunker into our lives? Among all the other associated crap? You can never bring back the past, at least not as it was. When I was a teenager in the 1970s, there was one ref, & the telecaster would play occasional slow-mo replays. It was simple & we liked it, because the real stars were the players & the game. Not anymore. We the public always have the collective power to say no, yet we don't. So the answer is we get what we deserve because of our apathy.