Given the fast-moving chaos of 30 players in close proximity to the ball and limited sightlines, it was perhaps inevitable that rugby would be an early adopter.
Initially television match officials were only used to help out with marginal calls on whether a try had been scored. England fans will remember and rue Mark Cueto’s try being ruled out in the 2007 Rugby World Cup final against South Africa.
However its remit has expanded into incidents of foul play, and with the game’s authorities leading a clampdown on high tackles, the conversations between the on-pitch officials and those seated in front of a screen have become longer and more frequent.
World Rugby have attempted to rein in trial-by-TV for every score, by guiding officials to only review incidents in the last couple of passages of play before a try, rather than spooling back further.
Limiting that creep and keeping the game flowing, while prioritising player safety, is the balance the game is trying to strike.
A ‘bunker’ system – whereby an incident which met the yellow card threshold could be upgraded to a red after a video review while the offender sat in the sin-bin – was introduced in 2023 and has been a success overall.
The system isn’t perfect. South Africa’s autumn win over Ireland in November lasted more than two hours once five yellow cards had been dissected and dished out over video review.
But the game is still faster and cleaner than it was before the introduction of video officials. And the transparent nature of decisions – with discussion between the officials broadcast live – is a definite advantage over football.
