TMO happy with decision
It was just two minutes into the second half when Mark Cueto dived over in the corner for what he maintained was a try. The television match official, Stuart Dickinson, took three minutes of viewing before advising the referee Alain Rolland that Cueto’s left foot had gone into touch. The try was not allowed.
Some English supporters booed, Cueto claimed afterwards that he was instinctively convinced that he had scored and much English media space was given to the “controversial” decision, claiming that the “video referee” had denied England a try.
Cueto said that is was “100 per cent try”. Dickinson said that he was “100 per cent happy” with the decision – that it was not a try.
David Bond of the Daily Telegraph reported that Dickinson had subsequently been able to view the incident “frame by frame”. He is quoted as saying: “There’s no doubt about it, it’s correct. There’s stills footage and all the pictures we looked at on the night have been proved to be right. There’s a lot of definitive footage there.
“I’m 100 per cent happy with the decision. His foot runs into touch by about 25 to 30 centimetres. Factually it is indisputable. If you know the decision is correct and people are still upset, well, there’s nothing you can do about that, is there? Opinions are like bums, everyone’s got one.”
Dickinson said that the decision had taken as long as it had because of language problems with the French television producers. He said: “With the language barrier between me and the French TV producers, I wasn’t able to get frame-by-frame pictures last night. The producer didn’t slow it down for me so I had to make the judgement in real time. That’s why it took so long. Eventually we got that view down the line which cleared it up.”
Television match officials have a check list and work backwards. Dickinson started with the grounding of the ball. If that had been wrong he would not have had to look further. He said: “Looking at the first replays it was clear that Mark Cueto had grounded the ball correctly and that his body was in play when he did so, which left the question of whether his toe had slid in as the only issue.”
French television would not have been used to the role and requirements of the TMO before the World Cup as it is not used in France though due to be introduced this year in the Top 14. It was a foreign concept to the spectators at matches who early in the World Cup showed noisy disapproval every time a decision was referred to the TMO.
Dickinson dismissed suggestions that some England fans looking for a scapegoat will focus on the fact he is an Australian. He said: “What’s being an Aussie got to do with it? The decision was correct and my nationality is irrelevant.”
Paddy O’Brien, the IRB’s manager of referees who looked after them during the World Cup, said of the decision: “It was a very, very good decision.
“It was a perfect illustration of television match official protocol. The time it took to make the decision is not the issue. Getting it right is the issue. Our big thing is that we’ve got the technology, let’s use it. You can see Mark Cueto’s foot making contact with the touchline before it then lifts as he crosses the try-line.”
