Is elite rugby being refereed consistently anymore?
In Ireland vs Italy, Dan Sheehan was penalised for jumping into contact from a tap penalty. It was called dangerous play, and that decision was correct. But in last year’s British & Irish Lions series against Australia, the exact same player executed the same action and was awarded a try. Same action. Completely different outcome.
Then there’s the forward pass issue. Italy had a try overturned against Ireland because the ball travelled forward relative to the pitch markings, despite the law focusing on the direction of the pass out of the hands. A week later in England vs Scotland, a more exaggerated pass that clearly drifted forward with momentum was allowed because it went backwards out of the hands, which is how the law is supposed to be applied. Then in France vs Ireland, a pass that appeared clearly forward out of the hands was checked and cleared.
Interestingly, Ian Tempest was the TMO in both the Ireland vs Italy match and the France vs Ireland match, raising further questions about how forward passes are being assessed from week to week.
For context, the officiating team in Ireland vs Italy was:
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (RFU) and Luc Ramos (FFR)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
FPRO: Tual Trainini (FFR)
This isn’t about targeting individuals. It’s about consistency at Test level. The laws haven’t changed. So why do identical situations produce completely different outcomes?
Timestamps:
00:00 - Dan Sheehan Jumping Into Tackles
02:21 - Forward Pass Inconsistency
04:16 - Sponsorship Video
Thanks to VHA Accounting Solutions for their support of this channel. It allows us to produce the content that we produce!
Under Section 12 of the Copyright Act No. 98 of 1978 (as amended), allowance is made for “Fair Dealing” for purposes such as criticism, review, education, and commentary. Fair Dealing is a use permitted by law that might otherwise be infringing.
The footage used in this video remains the copyright of its respective broadcast rights holders. TASanalytics does not assert any claim of ownership over such material. All clips are used in a transformative manner, incorporating original commentary, telestration, and analysis, and only the minimum necessary portions are shown to illustrate refereeing decisions.
TASanalytics is an independent channel and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any broadcaster or rights holder. The views expressed in this video are solely those of TASanalytics.