The breakdown in communication between the referee and TMO, and their use of an iPhone to communicate, has been dubbed farcical and a blemish on an otherwise exciting Test between the Springboks and Wallabies in Perth.
The pressure will now be on World Rugby and its match officials to iron out the technology problems ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia next year.
For the second Test in a row involving the Boks, the referee’s communication with his TMO went down and took some major momentum out of the clash at Optus Stadium in Perth. Two weeks ago, the same thing happened in Baltimore, with the match officials, after a long break in play, having to use a cellphone to communicate with each other.
World Rugby allows the use of a cellular phone as an emergency backup link to the TMO on the field if the main wireless communication system breaks down.
However, Sunday’s situation with Italian Andrea Piardi on the whistle spiralled out of control and left the Test with plenty of question marks around the backup solution when communication between the referee and TMO, in this case his countryman Matteo Liperini, goes down.
Once it became clear that the primary communication method was broken, there should have been a backup microphone/earpiece to connect the referee and TMO. The Baltimore game should have been a clear example of why that must be in place.
In the dying moments in Perth, an attacking Bok scrum was disrupted because the TMO phone call came late. The intervention was used to review a high tackle by Wallabies captain Harry Wilson on Malcolm Marx, which resulted in a yellow card. The TMO call was the correct one for a yellow, but it came late and disrupted valuable attacking time for the Springboks as they chased a victory.
Right through the game, other calls also required the iPhone to be brought on to the field, and in certain circumstances, there were no checks performed when the TMO needed to step in, like during one of the tries scored by Wallabies centre Len Ikitau that appeared to have been held up over the line.
Rassie Erasmus did not lay the blame for the loss at the door of the technical glitches, but rather said his team failed to use their opportunities. But, if things had gone smoother in the dying stages of the match in terms of communication between the match officials, there arguably would have been enough time to get a winning score.
However, the failure of technology in stadium must be sorted out and the cellphone communication must be there as an absolute last resort if all else fails. Going forward, there must be a better way for the referee, his assistants and TMO to communicate when the initial radio comms are down because the cellphone calls in a vociferous stadium could become problematic going forward.
It is just over a year out from the 2027 Rugby World Cup, and if something like this happens at the tournament, the outrage will be even bigger.
So, this past weekend’s failings should be another clear indicator to World Rugby that communication on the field must be sorted as soon as possible, and that fans will not tolerate this kind of interruption going forward.
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