VIDEO: Irish received TMO clarity from World Rugby
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Ireland sought clarity from World Rugby regarding some crucial Television Match Officials calls that went against them in the first Test against Springboks at Loftus Versfeld.
The Irish felt a little aggrieved by several decisions, in particular, James Lowe’s disallowed try, which saw the wing sprint 60 metres to the tryline, and the call not to punish RG Snyman for his tackle that left Casey concussed during last weekend’s defeat.
Lowe’s try was chalked off when TMO Ben Whitehouse spotted an infringement at the breakdown and alerted referee Luke Pearce.
After the review, the officials ruled that Ireland hooker Ronan Kelleher illegally kicked the ball out of the ruck while off his feet.
The second incident also involves Lowe.
The TMO determined that the Leinster’s man foot was still in the air when he flipped the ball infield, which saw Bok wing Cheslin Kolbe score.
Meanwhile, Snyman’s tackle was deemed legal in terms of where he struck Casey. There were questions around the timing, however, Pearce and the other match officials were happy with it.
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Speaking to reporters Ireland defence coach Simon Easterby said the visitors received feedback regarding the incidents.
“We’ve got feedback, yeah,” Easterby said.
“We’ve gone through the right process, we’ve had an opportunity to get feedback and put our case forward. I think South Africa has done the same.
“We now believe that we’ll make sure that this weekend there’s no ambiguity, there’s always going to be decisions you don’t agree with.
“Referees have an incredibly tough job – especially at the breakdown. There’s so much going on.
“We just want to make sure the clear-and-obvious is picked up, that it’s refereed.
“It sounds bad, but it means a side has to concede 15 to 20 penalties. It’s because those indiscretions are there and clear and obvious.
“If a side concedes five, then it’s because they’ve been disciplined.
“We’re no different. We want to make sure we’re giving the referee, his TMO and assistants [enough space and time].”
He added: “We want to make sure on the other side of that we’re getting real clear communications and decisions on the back of that.”
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There was also some tension between referee Pearce and No.8 Caelan Doris, who replaced O’Mahony as captain in the final 20 minutes.
“We thought that Caelan handled himself incredibly well. He has the responsibility to ask questions, he has just to do it at the correct time and that we give the referee a bit of space to make the decisions,” Easterby said.
“They need to work as a team of four, sometimes that maybe didn’t happen in the game.
“We believe Caelan was well within his rights to ask some of those questions and he needs to also understand that the referees need a little bit of space to then make those decisions.”
This week’s Test will be officiated by referee Karl Dickson from England. His assistant referees will be Luke Pearce from England and Craig Evans from Wales.
The TMO will be English official Ian Tempest.
