TMO tortures Cheetahs
10 Mar 2008
Referees need to be more consistent when referring try-scoring decisions to the TMO.
Australian referee Paul Marks did the Cheetahs a disservice on Saturday when he asked the TMO if he could provide a reason why a try had not been scored by Chiefs scrumhalf Brendon Leonard. Television replays were inconclusive, so the TMO’s verdict was that he could not see the ball. Marks then bizarrely awarded the try.
That score came at a critical stage of the game. The Cheetahs were ahead 17-0 just after half-time and it gave the rattled Chiefs a much needed boost.
Later in the match, the Chiefs again drove their way over the line and claimed a try. Again, the referee couldn’t see the ball being grounded, yet this time he asked the TMO a different question. “Can you tell me if a try has been scored,” said Marks. After several replays, the TMO again said he couldn’t see the ball being grounded, and Marks awarded a 5m scrum.
Referees are human and make mistakes, but there is no excuse for the above inconsistency. By changing his question in the second incident, Mark’s was effectively admitting he’d screwed up in the first.
On a related topic, another controversial episode in the build-up to the Chiefs’ second try showed why the TMO should play a greater role in rugby. Sitiveni Sivivatu floated a forward pass that was missed by the referee, and the winger regained possession to make it 17-12.
Why couldn’t the referee have provisionally awarded the try, and then asked the TMO if the pass was legitimate? After a short break, “No try” could have been flashed on the stadium TV screen and the Cheetahs would have had a scrum nearly the halfway line.
Rugby is a professional sport and can no longer allow human error (of referees) to determine the result of matches. Fortunately, the IRB is aware of this problem and plans to trial a referral system that will allow coaches to challenge on-field decisions. For coaches like Naka Drotske, it can’t come soon enough.
By Simon Borchardt
69 Comments
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10 Mar 2008, 13:59 pm
#34 — check your law-book. The referee is the “sole judge of fact”. That means he is actually EXPECTED to be a “law unto himself”. The linesmen and TMO are only “advisers”, whose advice the ref may take or leave as he wishes.
10 Mar 2008, 14:07 pm
refs has really had in for our teams this season and its becoming more blatant as the weeks goes on
10 Mar 2008, 14:32 pm
Katman,
I did not say the refs blunder never happened.
All i was saying is that you ,like Big Hit, ALWAYS put the blame on something else but your team.
Try for once to find out the real reason why the lions failed to deliver for decades now.
10 Mar 2008, 14:38 pm
#23. The refs and assistants in the Stormers game were pathetic. So many errors. It was shocking.
I must say apart from the slow adoption of the ELVs by the SA teams, the low standard of refereering this year must be the disappointment of the tournament so far.
Where have all the good refs gone? Where is Welsh, Kaplan (I’ve only seen him once), the Aussies #1?
10 Mar 2008, 14:49 pm
Its just a play on words –
Marks asked the TMO –
Is there a reason I cannot award the try? The TMO, then SHOULD have said yes there is a reason. I cannot see the ball being grounded thus deciding a try had been scored is pure assumption.
Dont know what all the fing fuss is about!
10 Mar 2008, 15:00 pm
53 – You talk so much kak it’s not even worth responding to. I ALWAYS put the blame elsewhere?
I dare you to find ONE other occasion where I’ve blamed anything or anyone but the Lions for our losses. I’m the first to admit we’re below par. But this decision was so diabolical it warrants a moan.
10 Mar 2008, 15:11 pm
I am also not sure about the forward pass judge by the referee in the Force vs Crusaders match…The try under the post could have let the Force won 32-9…
10 Mar 2008, 15:12 pm
Oops…typing error.. 31-29…
10 Mar 2008, 15:27 pm
Charlie,Charlie,Charlie,
Please try and except that the saders is now very close to becoming unbeatable.
10 Mar 2008, 15:30 pm
If 55,000 people can see whether a try is scored or not from the big screen then surely the Ref should be allowed to have a look himself. Im not saying he should make his decision from what the big screen shows alone but surely he’ll have a much better idee of what the tmo is talking about.. or they could bring a portable tv onto the field so he can be his own tmo.
Also supersport should put a synchronized clock on all cameras so that if one camera angle shows grounding of the ball but another shows a foot in touch they could simply use this time to determine which happend first…
A perfect example is the almost England try in the world cup final… there the Tmo had to go back & forth & try to look through the player to see whether there was a foot in touch before the grounding. Had there been a clock in place the tmo would simply had to look at the time of the
grounding & then from the other angle the time of the foot in touch. Simple!
10 Mar 2008, 15:34 pm
Wat van daai Sivivatu dr@l se spear tackle op JW Jonker ?
Geel kaart, yeah right en Zane Kirshner kry ‘n rooie vir syne !
Ek se dit nog altyd die Aussie en NZ refs het hulle messe in of uit vir SA spanne !
10 Mar 2008, 16:45 pm
Nee, King Cheetah [61], dit is ons refs wat ons plaaslike spelers benadeel – in die hoop dat daar ‘n paar internasionale krummels na hulle kant toe kan kom.
Mark Lawrence & co is meer gevaarlik as die skelms van Doeronder.
10 Mar 2008, 17:16 pm
I said it all weekend the ref messed up on both calls and cheetahs again were very unlucky
10 Mar 2008, 21:50 pm
that inconsistency is seriously part of the conspiracy – its no secret that the aussies in general hate us.
10 Mar 2008, 22:21 pm
its always against our teams. a BIG UP YOURS 2 all da refs
10 Mar 2008, 22:47 pm
Will rugby become like gridiron where the coach will have a colored flag in his hand? The coach can at any time challenge a try by throwing the flag onto the field (within a certain cutoff time after the try was scored). The try will then be reviewed by the TMO. The coach however will only be allowed 2 or 3 of these challenges during a game.
11 Mar 2008, 02:21 am
Refs are not perfect just ask Wayne Barnes, and I guess all teams have been hard done by, but in the end at least they have a game the following weekend to retify any mistakes and get back on track….. some teams have to wait four more years in the hope a ref can become abit more consistant & fair.
11 Mar 2008, 05:03 am
to tell the truth. Most refs are dicks.
Actually, most people when put in a position of power, act like dicks.
11 Mar 2008, 05:31 am
#68 Speak for your self mate.
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