Premiership TMOs told to stop intervening for marginal forward passes
Exclusive: Protocols have been refined to advise the truck-dwelling officials to effectively ignore any pass that is marginal or debatable
By
Charles Richardson,
RUGBY REPORTER and
Charlie Morgan,
SENIOR RUGBY WRITER
26 April 2023 ? 5:59pm
Television match officials in the Premiership have been instructed to only intervene for the most ?clear and obvious? forward passes due to the subjectivity of such decisions.
Telegraph Sport understands that, since Sale?s win over Saracens in March ? featuring a contentious forward pass in the lead-up to Sam James?s first-half try ? the TMO protocols have been refined to advise the truck-dwelling officials to effectively ignore any pass that is marginal or debatable, given the multitude of factors at play when the ball is in the air.
The result of the streamlined protocols has resulted in an increased awareness of forward passes among on-field officials, who know that only the most glaring will attract the attention of the TMO and benefit from extra scrutiny and replays. The position of the on-field officials - the referee and their assistants ? is also understood to be a factor for TMOs when judging the legality of passes. If a pass looks suspicious but the on-field officials have allowed play to continue, then unless the TMO believes a glaring error to have been made, they will stay silent.
In July 2022, World Rugby?s updated protocol stated that, where forward passes were concerned, a TMO may only intervene for ?clear and obvious knock-on or throw-forward infringements within two phases of a possible try?. While that has always been applied in English rugby?s top flight, Telegraph Sport understands that extra emphasis has been placed on the definition of ?clear and obvious? in recent rounds by the Rugby Football Union, which is keen to avoid the spotlight being placed on the TMO and referees with regard to ambiguous or controversial passes.
A ?forward pass? has long been one of rugby?s most subjective terms, with law-makers struggling to define what constitutes such an offence. Momentum, lines on the pitch, direction of the passer?s hands and camera angles can all play a part in distorting the ball's direction of travel, with slow-mo replays often deceiving and seldom aiding a TMO?s ability to make concrete decisions for debatable forward passes.
World Rugby, as well as the RFU, continue to explore technology relating to the officiating of forward passes, to make life easier for their officials. Hawk-Eye are understood to have been involved in preliminary talks around how their technology could aid the identification of forward passes, while Sportable ? the creators of the smart ball, used in the Six Nations ? believe that their technology could eventually help with the officiating of forward passes, although such developments are still in the research phase.
The move to reduce the TMO?s role in adjudicating forward passes has come partly in a bid to avoid lengthy interactions between referees and TMOs which have occasionally proven inconclusive in Premiership fixtures. One such instance came in Bristol?s mammoth 62-8 victory over Northampton in March. The Saints? first try, scored by full-back George Hendy in the second half, came from an Aaron Hinkley scoring pass which TMO David Rose believed to be unequivocally forward. Referee Ian Tempest was unconvinced, however, leading to a lengthy exchange between the pair which resulted in the try standing.
Topic: TMO Redirection (Read 1068 times)
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