The process that saw Ed O’Donoghue red-carded for eye gouging, then quickly exonerated, has come under criticism like never before.
The incident which left Ed O’Donoghue with a red card
Now the IRB has extended it’s trial of enhanced TMO power until the end of the 2015 World Cup. It’s the World Cup for Christ’s sake! By the the time penultimate international contest comes around, the time for trials should be over well before then.
The announcement came as SANZAR sent James Horwill a ‘please explain’ letter after his “robbed by a stupid refereeing decision” comment post-match, against the Rebels last Saturday in Brisbane.
The Rebels kicked a penalty in the dying minutes of the game to claim victory after the TMO intervened, forcing Steve Walsh into a decision he clearly didn’t want to make.
Despite O’Donoghue being cleared by the SANZAR Judicial Officer on Monday and having his red card expunged, SANZAR refereeing boss Lyndon Bray backed the actions of TMO Steve Lescynscki.
Citing a match last weekend, where five of the six trys were referred to the TMO, further criticism of the use of the TMO was leveled by Justin Marshall, who claimed that the games are losing their spontaneity and fans aren’t getting the thrill of the moment any more because the referee’s are too scared to make a decision themselves.
Asked whether match officials should make firm, in-game decisions on cloudy issues like eye-gouging, SANZAR boss, Greg Peters said, “That’s part of the new TMO protocol that’s in place.”
“That has been a change in recent years, and we are currently under a trial which I am led to believe has just been extended by the IRB through to the World Cup,” Peters said.
“Historically what happened on the field (at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane) would not have happened in the way it did, because the TMO had no rights and nor did the referee have the right to look at the screen.”
As part of the global trial that began last year, TMO’s are empowered to provide the on field referee to review any case of potential foul play on the big screen. Prior to that, the TMO was only able to adjudicate on trys, when referred to by the referee.
Responding to suggestions O’Donoghue should have been placed on report instead of sent off, Peters said it had been advocated in the past but SANZAR were bound to play under IRB rules.
“We are part of a global game that doesn’t permit that. We are under IRB regulations and we don’t have the ability to do what one of our competitor codes does, put people on report and consider it later,” Peters said
“Is it a good idea? Well, it is something that has been considered in the past and been put forward to the IRB as we do from time to time when we think about these things. At the end of the day, we are all bound by the rules of the game and the processes around those.”
“I think it (a report option) would be a step too far for the global game given my understanding of the views in other quarters.”
In 2012 & 2013, SANZAR introduced a ‘white card’ options to be used for the citing commissioner later review, but the IRB rejected that idea.
Of the 23 white cards issued in 2012, 12 players were later cleared of any wrong doing. But under the current system, intervention by the TMO is forcing the referee into making a decision on the run.
Steve Walsh was forced into this situation last Saturday, when Lescynscki intervened. The detail you can see on the big screen is no where near as clear as you can make out on a High Definition Television. Mistakes are going to be made.
The moment Jean Deysel lost the plot
Only when the footage is clear and unambiguous, as it was with Jean Deysel’s stamp, does the potential for error disappear.
Surely, its time for the IRB to revert back to the three on field officials to be left making the call, and the rest left for the citing commissioner after the game.
