Springboks Owens

Former referee Nigel Owens. Photo by Matt Lewis – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images

Rugby: Latest law change limits TMO’s decision-making powers

World Rugby has introduced a new law with the aim to limit the chat between the referee and the TMO.

Springboks Owens

Former referee Nigel Owens. Photo by Matt Lewis – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images

The latest law change introduced by World Rugby will see referees making the final call on decisions requiring the assistance of the Television Match Official (TMO).

This is the second change introduced by the game’s governing body in the space of a week, as earlier a law with emphasis on player safety in the event of lifting a player from the same team as one would do in a lineout or at kick off.

The second change, set to take effect during the November internationals will see back and forth conversations between referees and TMOs scrapped, with the latter making the final decision in awarding tries. This is to minimise the number of stoppages during the game.

What the new law change means for the ref and the TMO

While decisions on try-scorings will be made on-field by the referee, all four match officials can still contribute.

“The current list of potential infringements for which a TMO can be referred will be retained, but any referral needs to be prompt, clear and consistent,” World Rugby said.

According to the governing body, the on-the-run chat between the TMO and the on-field officials for foul play will be scrapped, with referrals made only for serious acts of foul play.

World Rugby council member John Jeffery said this came after a review of the game’s protocol.

“The group agreed that for this trial we should place greater emphasis on on-field decision-making, with the TMO role limited to try-scoring and serious foul play, while also removing the ‘on-the-run’ conversations between the TMO and team of three match officials,” he said.

“While we hope that the revised protocol will have a positive impact in terms of time impact on the game and accuracy, as with any trial, we will undertake a full review after the November window before determining whether to proceed.”

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