Are broadcasters impacting rugby results?

Remember ‘Bloodgate’, when we all thought artificial blood was threatening the very nature of ‘rugby values’. 

Well, ‘Bloodgate’ is back. This time not run and orchestrated by coaches but by tech-savvy broadcast journalists and producers sitting in an outside broadcast van at a rugby match near you.

Elite rugby has become heavily dependent on the Television Match Official (TMO) to make close-call decisions. This includes scoring tries, foul play and reviewing whether a player was in touch.

The incidents below are all from elite rugby matches where the TMO was failed by the technology surrounding them.  

Scenario 1

The venue is Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The clock is in the 79th minute. The Springboks are trailing the All Blacks by three points until multiple replays of a foul play incident involving Liam Messam and Schalk Burger are shown on the big screen.

Referee Wayne Barnes is alerted to the shots by protesting fans and awards a penalty to the Springboks. Pat Lambie slots the kick from 55 metres, and South Africa win by 2.

Scenario 2

South Africa are trailing France by 10 in an Autumn Nations thriller in Marseille. Cheslin Kolbe is potentially dangerously tackled by Gaël Fickou. Referee Wayne Barnes loses his communication with his TMO, forcing him to make a decision based on what he initially saw without the input of the TMO.

Scenario 3

The venue is Dublin. Aviva Stadium is hosting what could be the 2023 Six Nations decider. James Lowe seems to have scored a blinder, but compelling replays surface five minutes after the try had been awarded. A camera angle showed Lowe in touch and the try would not have stood if this angle had been made available to TMO immediately.

What makes all of these scenarios peculiar is that all the outcomes were in some shape or form influenced by the host broadcaster, and the effect favoured the home team.

“We do have some issues with the host broadcasters having an influence over the matches. And yeah, it’s become a bit of a standard that they talk about. The French [TV] directors are not showing all the angles. And you know, it also seems to be more prevalent at French hosted games.”

These are the words of Jared Wright, a rugby journalist with Planet Rugby. With the Rugby World Cup happening in France this year, the last thing that any fan wants is to have a TMO unable to make the right decision because technology would have failed them.

The natural questions that arise are: Are home broadcasters deliberately influencing TMO decisions? What ethical dilemmas arise for teams who are affected by such incidents?

The TV director for Supersport, the host broadcaster, knew exactly what they were doing when they put up Liam Messam’s cheap shot on the screen to elicit a crowd response, alerting Barnes to the hit.

Did the TV director for the Irish broadcaster choose to exclude the picture of Lowe in touch deliberately to make sure the on-field decision remains?

It was quite a convenient time for radio communications to fail in Marseille.

“I think it’s definitely an ethical issue because if the games are always hosted by the home broadcaster and they have the rights and they are able to decide what is shown on the big screens or what is replayed over and over, then they are somehow disabling referees from making an informed decision,” Wright said.

Does this constitute borderline match-fixing or sabotage?

For example, we know in South Africa, Supersport, who have the broadcasting rights to every rugby match in the world for Africa, are a primary sponsor for the Springboks.

Surely then, a Springboks victory serves them well.

Take Lyon vs Wasps in a Challenge semi-final in May 2022. Half an hour into the encounter, ball carrier Leo Berdeu slipped, and Malakai Fekitoa, unable to adjust, made minor contact with the fly-half’s head. TMO Brian MacNeice dismissed the incident calling it ‘play-on’. But the French broadcaster followed this with nine replays, most of them in slow-motion.

Each viewing on the big screen enabled the home crowd to boo and jeer with increasing fervour, piling immense pressure on Irish referee Frank Murphy to take action. But he stood firm, correctly ruling that Fekitoa had tried to avoid contact and there was no foul play.

Fifty seconds into the second half, Josh Bassett was hit high by Lyon centre Charlie Ngatai with contact to the head. There was no replay or crowd reaction and the game moved on in a flash. Two minutes later, Lyon broke out, and Fekitoa caught Pierre-Lois Barassi with a cover tackle that slipped up from the shoulder. Cue another deluge of slow-motion replays and a cacophony of boos.  

“We have seen the shift with pitch invaders. When you have the streakers run onto the field, they automatically pan away to discourage that from happening.” Wright said. 

If broadcasters can be ethically sound in such instances, they can use those same skills for malice.

We often berate French TV producers for not showing the correct replays/angles so I’m amazed the TMO didn’t see or show Wayne Barnes the footage of James Lowe’s foot clearly in touch for his try

— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) February 11, 2023

TV producers only recently started switching off commentators’ microphones from the referee’s in-ear monitors. Previously TMOs could hear the commentators mouthing their opinion on the decisions, which undoubtedly influenced the referee.

“I would hope that when the World Cup rolls in, independent broadcasters will have the control of producing the matches, especially those that have the potential of reaching boiling point,” Wright said.  

Imagine if I am producing the Rugby World Cup final, and Cheslin Kolbe is running down the left flank, and he supposedly has a foot in touch. I am wearing a Springbok jersey as I write this. Will I show the right angle to allow the TMO to make a well-informed decision?

But that is not the point. No one would want a sworn Springbok fanatic having so much influence on a game of such prestige.

Eyebrows were raised when Marius Jonker, a seasoned World Rugby referee, had to be in the TMO seat during the 2021 British and Irish Lions Series because Covid-19 regulations prohibited World Rugby from flying extra bodies into the bubble.

Wright explained, “We all know referees are appointed at a neutral level for test matches; maybe the production crew needs to be looked at especially when host broadcasters are involved.” 

If someone’s ability to switch and select camera angles can alter the result of a test match, players putting their bodies on the line deserve better. One would rather see mistakes happen due to natural human error than a calculated attempt to affect the result.

I think Andy is talking about this angle which was never given to the TMO. pic.twitter.com/HKcke2U80f

— Denis Chabot (@DenisChabotHK) February 11, 2023

World Rugby has a responsibility here to place a neutral TV producer or director appointed by the governing body. This should become standard procedure.

They do create their own content through third-party production houses. Asking for one producer to ensure all checks and balances are in place for the TMO to perform at the ultimate level with all the tools available is a minimum task.

Rugby has always hinged its moral high ground on being a sport based on clear moral values. However, with the sport generating increased revenues, countries now realise the value of winning test matches.

Partisan broadcasters have realised they can alter results, and rugby’s moral values are being brought into question as a result. If World Rugby does nothing then this time the game will bleed and the blood will be real.