Time again
When it's over
There was some concern about the timekeeping at Millennium Stadium on Saturday when Wales and Australia played to a draw. And the referee of the day has his say on the ending.
In fact when the final whistle went, some people booed. Presumably they were booing the referee just when Wales seemed to have broken out of defence and were on the attack. They had hopes of a win.The acting captain of Wales, Gareth Thomas, looked nonplussed, astonished that the whistle had gone. He, too, it seems had hopes.
The hopes may have been remote, for Wales still had to win an Australian line-out, something they had failed to do all match, but hope does spring eternal.
But let's look at the time in the match concerned.
International matches are set down for 80 minutes. That is the maximum for a rugby match, unless there is extra time.
Law 5.1 DURATION OF A MATCH
A match lasts no longer than eighty minutes plus time lost, extra time and any special conditions. A match is divided into two halves each of not more than forty minutes playing time.
When time is up a stoppage is need to stop the match and not just any kind of stoppage. If the stoppage is a penalty, a free kick or a try, play goes on.
Now that time beyond the 40 minutes does not eat into the second half's 40 minutes. When half-time comes, that is 40 minutes over. The second half starts with a clean sheet.
Time lost is not included in the 40 minutes of each half. It is not part of the 80 minutes.
The reasons for time lost are laid down:
Law 5.4 TIME LOST
Time lost may be due to the following:
(a) Injury. The referee may stop play for not more than one minute so that an injured player can be treated, or for any other permitted delay.
The referee may allow play to continue while a medically trained person treats an injured player in the playing area or the player may go to the touch-line for treatment.
If a player is seriously injured and needs to be removed from the field of play, the referee has the discretion to allow the necessary time to have the injured player removed from the field-of-play.
(b) Replacing players’ clothing. When the ball is dead, the referee allows time for a player to replace or repair a badly torn jersey, shorts or boots. Time is allowed for a player to re-tie a boot-lace.
(c) Replacement and substitution of players. Time is allowed when a player is replaced or substituted.
(d) Reporting of foul play by a touch judge. Time is allowed when a touch judge reports foul play.
That's it. Time lost does not include the time taken for things like setting a scrum, or a line-out.
This time at Millennium Stadium and Twickenham, the clocks were stopped for time lost, which is controlled by the referee for he calls Time off and then Time on to indicate the time not to be included.
That means that the time being shown to the world at large is running time.
The television commentator in Cardiff was at pains to point this out.
Commentator: "Just a reminder that the clock stops for injuries. That time in the top left-hand corner [of the screen] is real time. When we get to 80- minutes, that will be that." He said that at 77 minutes 54 seconds. But the crowd in the stadium were unable to be privy to that titbit.
Now the referee is allowed to use a timekeeper. At Millennium Stadium and at Twickenham the timekeeper is the television match official. He is in communication with the referee and will tell him when time is up.
Let's look at a timetable.
77.36: Scrum to Australia in the Welsh 22
77.54: Injury and clock stops
78.05: Australia feed the scrum. Wales destroy the scrum.
78.18: Scrum to Wales
78.35: The scrum collapses
78.52: Wales feed the scrum and win the ball.
79.04: Henson kicks the ball into touch for a line-out on the Welsh 10-metre line
79.33: Australia win the line-out and run the ball.
79.48: The referee rules accidental off-side
80.05: Wales feed the scrum and win the ball. James Hook kicks diagonally
80.19: The ball bounces into touch.
As the man had said, that was that.
At Twickenham, when the stoppage occurred at 80.05, that was that and the final whistle went.
The referee has help. Recalling those last moments, the referee, Steve Walsh, told this website: "As for time, well that is kept by Kelvin [Deaker] and he said to me at the previous scrum that once the scrum was over time was up. I was surprised that the Welsh didn't even ask me how long to go. It was certainly a strange way to end the match."
And people booed. Ref's fault yet again!
Isn't this an argument for using the siren/hooter to indicate time up. That is an early warning system to the players, the spectators and the world that at the next stoppage the game will be over. It also tells the world that somebody else is, quite legitimately, pressing the bell that ends the match. The referee then goes on till he comes to an appropriate stoppage and he then blows the final whistle.
That the whistle went when it did in Cardiff was right and proper. It could just be managed better.
The siren/hooter works well in SANZAR countries. It takes the heat off the referee and often produces moments of high drama at the end of the match.
If it can be done in Wanganui, Welkom and Wagga Wagga, it must be possible in the great capitals of the Six Nations. It's not expensive or complicatedly technical.
Surely the urgent sound of the siren is better than mournful booing to greet the end of such a glorious match.
