TMO decisions in first Test accurate, says Bok refereeing consultant Jaco Peyper

Cheslin Kolbe of South Africa scores a try after he swooped and kicked ahead after Ireland wing James Lowe flipped the ball infield during the Test at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on 6 July 2024. (Photo: Samuel Shivambu /BackpagePix)

By Craig Ray

8 Jul 2024

Ireland were unhappy with several crucial decisions that went against them in the first Test against South Africa. The Boks won 27-20.

With simmering dissatisfaction over two massive moments that went against Ireland in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, former Test referee Jaco Peyper publicly backed the protocols and the match officials.

test tmo peyper boks ireland Jaco Peyper (Springbok laws adviser) at a team media conference at Beverly Hills Hotel in Durban on 8 July 2024. (Photo: Steve Haag Sports / Gallo Images)

Ireland had one try chalked up after wing James Lowe raced 60m to dot down during the Boks 27-20 win.

Television Match Official (TMO) Ben Whitehouse made the call, alerting referee Luke Pearce to something suspicious at the ruck from which the ball emerged. After a review, the officials ruled that Ireland hooker Ronan Kelleher illegally kicked the ball out of the ruck while off his feet, which led to Lowe’s score.

As a result, the try was disallowed.

Ireland coach Andy Farrell said after the match that they “would follow the proper channels” in seeking clarification on the incident.

Asked if he was aggrieved by the TMO calls, Farrell was diplomatic.

“Well, it’s not for me to say, is it? I saw quite a few of them live
and I had a dubious thought about it, but that’s life, isn’t it?” Farrell said.

“We’ll go through the right channels and make sure we do things properly. You’ll make of it what you want. We have to go through the right channels. Lucky, unlucky? That’s the game.”

The Boks haven’t waited for the incident to fester, even though there is nothing to be done about the outcome now – and they aren’t the aggrieved party.

Peyper gave the media a technical breakdown of Lowe’s disallowed try from an official’s viewpoint.

Unfortunately, though, Peyper is part of the Bok management and also on the South African Rugby Union’s payroll, so anything he says about the incident raises the question of impartiality. Especially when viewed through an Irish lens.

Nevertheless, Peyper has more know-how and gravitas than most when it comes to the laws of the game, so it’s worth noting his assessment of the incidents.

“The TMO has the same ability as the coaches… he’s got eight angles at the same time and would have seen a few of those types of actions in the lead-up in different rucks,” Peyper explained.

“It’s got to be factual-based. If you get points scored from that, they’re going to have to look at that turnover. Factually, the player is off his feet and he turns over possession.

“Sometimes you don’t want to step in touch but you’re in touch.

“Sometimes you don’t want to make that turnover when you’re off your feet, but you still do it, even though you don’t mean it. Factually: off his feet, turnover made. So the try can’t be scored.

“Then it becomes a debate whether it should be a penalty to Ireland because he (Kelleher) was touched on the neck. That is debatable.

“Maybe the officials are trying to stay consistent, because a few minutes earlier, there was the same scenario on Kwagga Smith which was played through, so maybe that’s even-handed.

“That’s all in the game of rugby – you can’t referee everything, but you can’t leave stuff that’s high impact.”

Second incident

Even more marginal was the TMO’s view that Lowe’s foot was still in the air when flipping the ball infield. Bok wing Cheslin Kolbe swooped on to the ball, hacked ahead and scored.

test tmo boks irelan kolbe Cheslin Kolbe of South Africa scores a try after he swooped and kicked ahead when Ireland wing James Lowe flipped the ball infield during the Test at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on 6 July 2024. (Photo: Samuel Shivambu /BackpagePix)

That incident came about five minutes after the disallowed try, which was a double body blow to Ireland. It was essentially a 14-point swing in the space of a few minutes.

The Kolbe try, though, came down to the decision on the field. Referee Pearce’s on-field decision was that Kolbe’s try was legal. For the TMO to overrule, he needed to find clear evidence that Lowe’s foot was in touch before releasing the ball. No footage conclusively showed this.

“It’s fine margins, so they have to be very clear,” Peyper said.

“It’s a big Test match so you’d rather have one replay too many than two too little. If the on-field decision is a try, that means it stands until there’s evidence that proves otherwise.

“If it’s suspicious or maybe, play through and the try stands. If they couldn’t prove with facts that he touched the ground, you have to stay with the on-field decision. If we (the Boks) were on the other side, we would have felt aggrieved, but if there’s a clear process it would have been followed.”

Ireland will seek clarity through World Rugby’s refereeing department, but, as the Boks know from experience, there is little to be done after the fact. They simply have to get on with it.

Which is why Bok coach Rassie Erasmus declined to be drawn into the TMO controversy in the immediate aftermath of the game.

“It wouldn’t help, would it?” Erasmus said regarding complaining. “I certainly have learnt from the past to let it be. That’s the protocol and that’s how it works, so they should accept it and move on.”

Ireland must be better

Although Ireland have some legitimate questions to ask about the incidents, they were also second-best in the first half when the Boks revealed more of their new attacking game under Tony Brown.

The Boks moved the ball wide, quickly and early, using width more than they did before. It might not have surprised Ireland completely, because they had an idea of what to expect with Brown coaching the Boks’ attack, but dealing with it is not as straightforward.

That’s because the Boks haven’t abandoned their direct, confrontational style either. It stretched Ireland at times.

Ireland have vowed to take the fight to the Boks in the second Test.

“It was tight margins, as clichéd as that is,” Ireland No 8 Caelan Doris said.

“The message in the changing rooms after the game was not to dwell on it; not to sulk too much and feel sorry, because there’s still a big game coming.

“We want to finish the season on a high with a good performance and a win, so lads are pretty battered, but we’ll recover well and get into it.” DM

Categories:

Sport

Tags:

DM is much better if you are signed in...

Sport

Second incident

Ireland must be better