We’re two weeks into Rugby World Cup and while the tournament hasn’t quite sparked into life just yet, it’s been a very good start for Wales. We didn’t play well against Portugal and we were lucky that Taulupe Faletau was on form to get that all-important bonus point against Portugal, but we’re sitting pretty on 10 points now and if we’d been offered that off the back of the Six Nations then I think everyone in Wales would have happily taken that.
It’s a massive game on Sunday, it really is huge. I am quietly confident and you have to think that Warren Gatland will be quietly confident, too. The only worry I have is that Australia have got to have a big performance in them somewhere, and it may well come this Sunday.
It really could go either way and I just hope that it is decided by moments of brilliance, rather than a sending off or any other controversial moment which changes the game. For that to happen, players have really got to be on top of their discipline to make sure they are not putting themselves in a position where a decision is sent to the bunker and they are potentially sent off. After all, it’s not the referee’s fault, it’s not them who makes the high tackle and gets it all wrong.
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Speaking of the bunker, which is being used at the World Cup for the first time, I think it has worked well on occasions. It has sped up the game so we're not waiting on every decision for five minutes and piling endless pressure on the referee to make a judgement. Instead, the game can continue and it’s a better all-round experience for referees, players and fans watching along.
However, there is one thing about the bunker that I'm a little bit concerned about, and it’s really come to light during incidents that have caused a lot of debate among pundits and fans, of which there have already been several at this tournament. One of the great things about the TMO in rugby in the past is that when a referee gives a decision, he explained to you why he was giving the red or yellow card or not, or why there was mitigation.
Whether you agreed or had a different view, you could at least understand why the referee had reached the decision based on that explanation. For me, that’s what put the TMO ahead of VAR in football and things like that.
People understanding the reasoning behind decisions is hugely important in rugby because it does come down to interpretation, particularly around 50/50 decisions. In football, the referee goes to the screen and comes back and changes the decision, but nobody knows the reason why because there's no explanation that comes with it.
That is frustrating to people watching the game, particularly fans at the stadium, but also people watching it at home. Quite often in football, those decisions and the lack of explanation from referees leads to endless debate and discussion about what should have been given or what should have been done differently, and all that talk threatens to undermine the game itself.
With the bunker, that problem is now creeping into rugby. The lack of explanation behind decisions has added some frustration and given rise to a lot of needless talk around controversial decisions on social media and in TV studios. When people are left surprised by decisions, they need to hear the reasoning behind them in order to understand and move on.
We saw it in Wales’ last game when Portugal winger Vincent Pinto was sent off in the final moments in the game after kicking Josh Adams in the face as he jumped to catch the ball. The referee’s decision, or the bunker on this occasion, comes down to whether he felt that the player's actions - namely him sticking his leg out - were unnatural or not. If he feels that it was reckless and there was a high degree of danger, then it’s a red card, but if he felt that is was natural, that he didn’t do anything deliberately, then it’s not. It basically comes down to what the official thinks has happened.
Historically, the TMO has allowed us to hear the referee’s thought process but with the new bunker that has been lost. When so much comes down to interpretation, that could create more problems than it solves.
Obviously, it is a real plus point to have the TMO working in the background to let the game carry on. But, as I’ve said, there is a downside to the bunker, if we don't know the reason why. A balance needs to be struck.
