Jeff Probyn: Extending power of TMOs allows refs to pass the buck

I watched Sale christen their new home at the Salford City stadium with an unfortunate loss against Saracens last Saturday. A first start for star player Danny Cipriani in front of his home crowd and he did okay – but was outshone by the once darling of Sale, Charlie Hodgson.
Hodgson had the advantage of playing behind the dominant Saracens pack that pressured Sale into giving away penalties which he successfully kicked.
Disappointingly for the fans there was not a glut of tries despite the ideal conditions, only an interception from Sale and a well-worked break from Alex Goode creating space for Chris Aston to score his third Saracens try in two games.
The match, however, was not without controversy as referee David Pearson had to call on his TMO to rule if a block had taken place, stopping what could have been a Sale try midway through the first half.
A break by Cipriani and chip kick opened the Sarries defence which had drifted slightly early, creating a hole which Sale centre Sam Tuitupou ran through. He would have had a relatively clear run to the try-line after gathering the ball had he not been deliberately and illegally blocked without the ball by Brad Barritt.
As I was commentating I had the advantage of a replay which showed Barritt dive tackle Tuitupou as he ran through the gap that had opened after his mistake.
Pearson was slightly unsighted so called on his TMO for clarification and was told that a block had occurred and that the recommended sanction was a penalty and a reprimand – but crucially not a yellow card.
What was oblivious to the near 7,500 fans in the stadium was that this was a professional foul to prevent a score – precisely what yellow cards were introduced to stop and yet it had been committed and the TMO had failed to recommend the appropriate sanction.
Although we are in the early stages of the trial extending the TMO role I feel that a change should be made in how the TMO system works.
Under the old system, where the TMO had a specific area to rule on, it was important that the referee asked the right question and followed any recommendation. But now that there is a greater freedom for the TMO to explain what has happened, and therefore provide the referee with enough information for him to make his own decision, things have changed.
Given the enhanced role of the TMOs, if they were allowed to give only the facts of what has happened to a referee and not any recommendations, the referee alone would have to decide about the appropriate sanction, or if to award a try etc.
This would return the authority of match control back to the referee, instead of enabling him to ‘pass the buck’ to an unseen figure somewhere in the ether and enable referees to regain the respect they used to have.
Last week’s exposure that Australia, and particularly the ARU, are already gearing up to fleece the Lions supporters next summer should not be a great surprise!
Every great sporting occasion now seems to be seen as a way of generating as much money as possible for the organisers and the host country, rather than an opportunity to showcase sport itself.
The London Olympics saw hotels double their overnight tariffs, key transport workers threaten strikes unless given extra pay to work the same hours and drive the same trains and food venues inflate prices while ticket prices for the ‘big events’ were astronomical.
The Lions are also a part of the money game, charging a fee to the country they tour, selling merchandise and selling rights for supporters packages etc and making huge profits that are divided between the four Home Unions. As a result of all this money grabbing, it should be no surprise that the players will want a bit of the action for themselves, although the reported figure of around £100,000 each (including bonuses) does seem a bit excessive for a six-week tour.
The only recourse we fans have against this blatant profiteering, is to follow the Olympic example and not fall into the trap. London was a ghost town during the Olympics and most of those hotels that put up their prices were empty, even the tickets for some events were sold at knock-down prices to fill half empty stadiums.
If Lions fans don’t buy the expensive supporter travel packages and refuse to go to Australia, staying at home and watch on TV, maybe next time the prices will be more realistic and the sport will be the benefactor rather than the business community.
The apology from the Union to ex-chief executive Martyn Thomas was to be expected as there was no way that some of the Blackett Report conclusions could be proved in a court of law.
Much of the evidence was given with a promise of confidentiality to those who were prepared to inform, so there was always going to be a problem in getting enough evidence to win should the case go to law.
Rugby is not a court of law and the Blackett report conclusions were expressed on the balance of probability, given that the weight of the evidence would be seen as circumstantial because of the promise of confidentiality and anonymity.
If, as a result of the apology the Union lose Judge Jeff Blackett (a man whose honesty and impeccable reputation is respected throughout the game), they will suffer yet another damaging blow to their credibility as a governing body fit for purpose.