David Bowie’s lyric “Ground control to Major Tom, you’re off your course, direction’s wrong” seemed distinctly apropos as Ben Whitehouse, from his TMO command centre, made, or indeed failed to make, a call to referee Luke Pearce during an incident involving player Craig Casey.
A strange and disconcerting lack of response came from Whitehouse when Snyman, an ex-Munster team-mate of Casey, seemingly offside, attempted to disrupt Casey’s pass by aiming for his arm. Missing his chance, he proceeded to tackle Casey after the ball had left, pushing him towards the ground where his head collided forcefully with the turf, rendering him instantly unconscious. This unsettling event elicited grave worry.
The tackle occurred late and far from the ball, also seemingly at a high position. One would expect a review given these circumstances, but all was quiet on the TMO’s end. There was a recent highlight in this column regarding risky tackles that don’t involve outright head-on-head contact – this was certainly one of them. Despite the head contact protocols, an outcome brushed off as “just rugby” would be absurd in my opinion.
Here we stand again, restrained by these protocols and failing to follow the sport’s regulations. A key element that seems to be missing in this equation is a certain duty of care, something which the tackler didn’t appear to hold in high regard. What we witnessed was a dangerous 131kg colliding unnecessarily with a mere 76kg, and the result, unfortunately, speaks volumes to this fact. I am completely prepared to face any backlash from this viewpoint, especially from South Africa, I imagine.
However, I firmly believe that tackles that might cause severe brain injuries should warrant more than just a “play on”. There ought to be repercussions. I don’t trust that the TMO should have the final say in such incidents involving serious injuries – that responsibility should lie firmly with the referee.
I fail to understand why Pearce didn’t want to witness Casey’s extended treatment, a sentiment shared by Caelan Doris. The player was instead reprimanded, albeit courteously. Whitehouse prompted Pearce to intercept a try from James Lowe following a spectacular touchline dash. An eagle-eyed TMO identified a potential foul by Ronan Kelleher during a ruck, moments before. Despite the ball making contact with Kelleher’s foot before appearing on Ireland’s side, Pearce, having a clear view, did not blow his whistle. That’s the main issue – it was a referee’s call during a ruck, not the TMO’s. Yet Pearce should have noticed the neck roll on Kelleher that originally knocked him over. Ireland should then have received a penalty, but it instead was given to the opposing side.
Lowe exhibited a mix of commendable and regrettable performances. His successful attempt to keep the ball in the game without knowing who was behind him was injudicious. The risk outweighed the reward, a stark contrast to his exquisite offload resulting in Jamie Osborne’s score. This directly led to Kolbe’s try; but after an extensive review, it was concluded that Lowe had relinquished the ball before his foot touched the ground in out-of-bounds territory.
Another aspect to consider is the rule stating that if either the ball or its carrier touches the touchline or beyond, the ball is considered out. Given that the ball had been released and if it then contacts Lowe’s thigh, the question is if that counts as “anything beyond”. Opinions may differ, but the decisive judgement was Whitehouse’s, asserting that there was nothing blatantly compelling for Pearce to topple his on-pitch try verdict.
Lastly, Lowe was rightly involved in the awarded penalty try for South Africa. He unexpectedly botched the ball play deep within Ireland’s goal, leading Pearce to grant the unavoidable five-metre scrum. With the “bomb squad” barely arriving for a mere fraction of the 80-minute match, it renews significant safety issues. They fulfilled their role and shattered the Irish squad, leading to Kelleher facing a yellow card penalty.
There was substantial involvement from the Television Match Official (TMO) following a situation instigated by Doris regarding the grounding of the ball. Although one camera perspective illustrated the ball hadn’t crossed the line, leading to Whitehouse’s dismissal of the act, another viewpoint seemed to present a brief but definitive grounding. This is likely to raise considerable questions from Ireland, among many more.
Throughout the game, Doris and Pearce exhibited an intriguing dynamic, with Doris occasionally irritating the referee. While such behaviour may not be highly commendable, one can scarcely fault him for it in certain instances. Rob Dickson, the assistant set to take charge next Saturday, would have taken careful stock of these interactions. The match referees’ performance evaluations are anticipated to be less than pleasing, following a subpar showing amid an intensely robust competition.
Added to the specialist review facet from World Rugby in relation to the red card substitution, two further groups are persistently examining issues. One is focussed on analysing the role of TMO involvement in entirety; the other is examining the subject of substitutions, commonly known as “bomb squads”.
Recommendations are expected from these groups to be accepted by the council of World Rugby in November. Since both of these areas have deviated significantly from their original intentions, this meeting is eagerly awaited. Their current situation can be likened to being in “Major Tom territory”, veering significantly off their designated path.