If there are TMOs in a bunker, don’t forget to frisk them for voodoo dolls
TMO = WTF
THE Super Rugby Television Match Officials (TMOs) have been pretty awful this season.
Lyndon Bray has had his hands full trying to figure out how a guy can get it wrong when he watches about 10 replays of an incident or potential try being scored.
It’s become a bit embarrassing, a bit like a person still wearing a t-shirt with the old South African flag on the front. Those dodgy decisions have influenced the outcome of quite a few matches so far this season. Last weekend, it was the Bulls’ turn to be robbed.
Yesterday, on the Internet, there was an interesting article about Bray and Sanzar investigating the possibility of a “referees bunker” “to try and cut down on television match official decisions that are both controversial and cause an unnecessary delay in the game”.
According the article, “the bunker has been implemented in Australia’s NRL Rugby League system, whereby the television match official was not at the game. He would rather be in a bunker where he would have access to at least nine different angles of play, and able to control which angles to look at if a decision was to be taken. The bunker would be situated off site, and connected via technology, taking away the emotion of fans in front of the TMO box.”
This is a fantastic idea. But in the interest of saving money, Super Duper would like to suggest a couple of things that we think would help the TMO’s do their job properly.
Every TMO must get a YOU can’t blame Heyneke Meyer if he shouts for the team facing the Stormers in their playoff match at Newlands next weekend.
It’s not because Meyer is a Bulls fan or that he wants to be to spiteful, but it’s because he wants to fetch Duane Vermeulen in Cape Town, wrap him in cotton wool and hide him away in his basement until the start of the World Cup.
Vermeulen’s neck injury, which ruled him out of last weekend’s match against the Lions, would have given Meyer sleepless nights because of the big No 8’s value to the Boks.
Vermeulen is one of the best players in the world, and possibly the Springboks’ most important player – at least the one that would be the biggest loss if he were to be ruled out of the global showpiece.
However, the Stormers also need Vermeulen to help them get over that final hurdle.
So lets all hope that Vermeulen’s body holds up, for the sake of the Boks and the Stormers. All three Sanzar countries will say goodbye to a host of players either retiring or going to play overseas this weekend. The list is almost as long as my arm, and we can’t mention them all, but the likes of Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Will Genia, Victor Matfield and the Du Plessis brothers are some of the play- ers who have given us some great entertainment and memories over the years.
There are seven Super Rugby matches this weekend, and there will be a few players saying goodbye in probably all of those matches.
So, I know what I’m going to be doing this weekend: Get some beer, biltong, send my wife to the mall with my credit card and enjoy all of the matches from the comfort of my couch to say salute to the legends!
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