Rugby:Television match officials will have be asked to rule on incidents of potential foul play and the build-up to tries from next season, according to the International Rugby Board.
The TMO was hitherto restricted to ruling solely on phases of play involving tries, but their remit will grow from next season after a global trial, in both club and international rugby, was approved by the IRB and its member unions.
The referee will be able to consult the TMO on “up to two phases (rucks or mauls) before the ball is grounded in the act of scoring”, while he “may also call on the TMO to advise on incidents of possible foul play”, according to an IRB release this afternoon.
The decision follows trials of “extended TMO protocol variants” in England's Aviva Premiership and South Africa's Absa Currie Cup. Both were deemed “highly successful” by the independent IRB Laws Representative Group (LRG), but the Currie Cup protocol was preferred.
"It was a difficult task for the Laws Representative Group to determine which variation of the protocol should go forward for global trial as both had significant merits and both have been embraced by match officials, coaches and players," said IRB rugby committee chairman Graham Mourie.
"However, after extensive analysis, the group felt that the Currie Cup variant which encapsulates two prior phases of play without a major time impact is sufficient to address match-affecting incidents that are currently not captured by the TMO protocol as it appears in Law."
"We have a clear way forward and it is now important that we educate our match officials to ensure excessive recourse to the TMO must be avoided for the sake of continuity and, to that end, match officials will be reminded of that and assessed accordingly."
IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset added: "Rugby continues to evolve and innovate and there is no doubt that rugby referees have one of the toughest officiating roles in sport. We are committed to ensuring that they have all the tools they require from conditioning, management and technology to ensure that they can perform to the highest possible standards."
