, external<\/span><\/a> the amount of time lost in the game to stoppages, while according to former England wing Chris Ashton, the officiating at times across the month has been “bang average”.<\/p>\nAfter Ireland’s defeat by South Africa lasted well in excess of two hours, with five yellow cards and the hosts at one point down to 12 men, former Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris said the game felt “broken”.<\/p>\n
So why is the sport in this predicament, and what can it do to improve?<\/p>\n
There is a paradox at the heart of rugby union. An inherently physical – and, to some extent, dangerous sport – has faced an existential crisis over safety, with numerous ex-players embroiled in legal action against the game’s authorities.<\/p>\n
As a result, the law-makers have spent years trying to crack down on dangerous play by empowering referees to sanction illegal tackles with red and yellow cards.<\/p>\n
But while there is an ambition to recalibrate the sport from a collision game back towards more of an evasion one, rugby union at the highest level has never been more brutal, as the Springboks showed in their dismantling of Ireland at the Aviva.<\/p>\n
Understandably therefore, the officials are on red alert, desperate to ensure any dangerous tackles or collisions don’t slip through the net. What does this lead to? TMO referrals. Stoppages. Time taken out of the game. A sport that is already complex and hard to referee, becoming even more so.<\/p>\n
“Name a sport where the officials are more visible than rugby?” asks World Cup winner Paul Grayson.<\/p>\n
“It is a very difficult game to officiate anyway, without all the extra goings-on.”<\/p>\n
“The only other game I can think of where there are that many contacts and situations is the NFL, and there are seven referees on the pitch, looking at everything,” says England cap centurion Danny Care.<\/p>\n
“All the stuff that has slowed the game down and confusing it at the moment is the stuff that’s happening off the field with referrals and TMOs and bunker reviews,” adds Grayson.<\/p>\n
“It’s the sheer amount of time people off the playing surface are interjecting, or being asked to interject, that’s making the games at times a bit of a mess.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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