Man in the middle | Why rugby values, not the big TMO debate, are more important to Hong Kong referees

Two rounds into the Rugby World Cup and no prizes for guessing who is dominating discussions – Japan, Wales and match officials.

Referees and those involved with training, coaching and selection of match officials are usually reluctant to publicly criticise other officials and I am not going to break ranks.

Suffice to say, I am sure there will be some interesting reviews of decisions made by referees and their performance. One interesting point is the use of the TMO, which has led to much debate as the length of some games has increased significantly as either the referee referred a matter to the TMO or the TMO intervened.

The TMO can only be used for: grounding of the ball in-goal and whether anyone was in touch before the grounding; a successful kick at goal; any infringement two phases prior to scoring a try; and, lastly, foul play.

In the opening game between England and Fiji, 28 per cent of the stoppages involved the TMO. I’d wager that all of those decisions were correct, although it can affect the overall enjoyment with so much time taken up.

This brings into question the whole use of the TMO – World Rugby now has the available technology, including the Hawkeye camera, to ensure the correct decision is reached but at what cost to the game? Even team coaches are concerned about player welfare, with muscles cooling down while a decision is reached. There have been calls to limit their use in the same way that tennis players can question only a certain number of calls.

But imagine the following: New Zealand are leading Ireland 22-18 in the final with one minute to the final whistle. The Irish score in the corner and after the kick, time is up – the Irish have not only beaten the All Blacks for the first time but they have also won the World Cup. Ireland explode in euphoric celebration but hold on a minute, replays show a forward pass missed by referee Wayne Barnes. The TMO was not called on because captain Richie McCaw had used up his quota of TMO reviews. If you were a New Zealander, would you be able to accept this decision? More importantly, if you were Irish, would you accept it?