TMO Steals The Show

Last night I watched a very entertaining opening match of the 2015 RWC. The game saw a lot of running rugby and besides a couple of penalties for slowing down the ball at the breakdown, there was someone else easing the pace of the match...the TMO. If the opening match is anything to go by we could be in for some very drawn out encounters. Jaco Peyper is arguably one of the most experienced refs at the World Cup, and to me (and most of twitter) the use of, and interference from the Television Match Official was unwarranted on numerous occasions. Even this Sideline photographer was in disbelief when they felt the need to review Nemani Nadolo's clear try that was even confirmed by the assistant sideline referee (Watch the clip below).

If anyone was watching the match and was confused when the TMO stopped play to review an "illegal clearout" at a ruck, you were not alone. The referee was literally at the ruck and the so called "incident" happened right in front of his eyes. As the match continued I can remember off the top of my head about 5 total incidents that were referred to the TMO either by the referee or seemingly on a whim by the Television Official. These referrals tend to slow the game down and suck momentum from attacking teams. Figi fell victim to this a couple of times and we could have been in store for an even more exciting brand of rugby had these referrals not occurred. Hopefully this stop-start officiating doesn't become a trend in the coming contests and the referee's assistants can just "Let the boys play".