TMO complaints should not mask Australia’s failings

Most of the marginal calls went in England’s favour but they came from Wallaby mistakes

Some wag joked on social media that the man of the match in Saturday’s game between England and Australia was the Television Match Official. Most of the marginal calls went in favour of the home team and Australia fans were far from happy. Although many were difficult decisions, the time taken to make them was lengthy and, in the opinion of many, excessive.

I do not think the powersthat-be understand what it is like for the crowd. The delays seem interminable as angle after angle is shown. Naturally, and rightly, officials want to get as many calls right as they can, but they are not paying enough attention to the protocol that governs reviews.

When a referee asks for their assistance, specifically reiterating the pertinent law, they should not need so much time. They are asked to look for evidence that is clear and obvious. If you have to look at multiple shots, repeatedly, and still have difficulty in making up your mind it cannot, by definition, be clear and obvious.

Michael Cheika, the Australia coach, stopped short of blaming the officials for the defeat, but was clearly unhappy. He was right to reflect on his team’s inability to convert chances because nearly all the marginal decisions were correct and, most importantly, many of those incidents came from Australian mistakes.

For their first disallowed try, captain Michael Hooper realised he was in front of the kicker as he clearly looked around and slowed down. That is not enough. He must stop and not move forward until he is put onside by a team-mate running from behind. Not knowing or ignoring that law is what cost Australia the try, not the officials

In the first 20 minutes of the second half, Australia dominated but turned the ball over twice within 10 metres of the England line. The second of these led to the contentious try by Elliot Daly.

Whether you believe the ball did or did not go out of play before Daly kicked it, the fact is Australia lock Rob Simmons spilt the ball only five metres from the England goal-line. From England’s resultant clearance kick, Scott Sio made a searing line-break but Tevita Kuridrani dropped a simple pass.

So, Australia squandered two decent scoring chances but even that would not have turned into a chance for Daly had their full-back, Kurtley Beale, not given up on chasing Ben Youngs’ kick. That was effectively a 14-point swing in England’s favour.

Marika Koroibete was denied a try because Stephen Moore accidentally obstructed Chris Robshaw and, however harsh the call, Moore should not have got in front of Koroibete in the drive for the line. The scoreline did not reflect the balance of play, but that is sport. Australia were in a position where they could have won. They did not score when they should have, and England did. No ifs and buts, no whatabouts – that is it.

England have developed the handy knack of managing to survive periods of pressure and then putting opponents away. This is testament to their resilience but also to the strength of their bench. The front-row replacements stopped the rash of free-kicks and