‘This cannot continue’ – Ex-All Blacks boss Steve Hansen blasts ‘time-consuming’ officiating as he calls for change

Rugby World Cup-winning coach Steve Hansen has reiterated his calls for change over how the sport uses the television match official.

The former All Blacks head coach feels that the TMO, which has the authority to call anything from try-scoring opportunities to foul play, is hurting rugby.

Four yellow cards were given in the World Cup final between South Africa and New Zealand, with Sam Cane’s card being upgraded to a red one. This resulted in many stoppages during the play.

Hansen was not fond of the overall show, even if he thought most of the judgments were right.

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Immediately after that match he told The Breakdown that the game should ‘sack the TMO’ and, just over a month later, he wants to see World Rugby alter the officiating process.

“There should only be one question from the on-field referee to the TMO: ‘is there a try or not?’ The TMO should not intervene elsewhere,” he told Midi Olympique.

In order for it to occur, players, coaches, and spectators must embrace the shift and accept that mistakes will inevitably be made by officials.

Hansen continued, “Coaches and players nowadays need to keep in mind that referees are fallible human beings.

Right now, 15,000 clubs worldwide discuss the refereeing over the weekend on Monday mornings. This cannot go on.

Hansen believes that there is a price to be paid for the officiating’s increased precision, especially when it comes to calls that might change the course of the game.

Angry fans

According to the previous head coach of New Zealand, fans become impatient when choices take an excessively lengthy time to be made.

“It’s time to end video refereeing outside of situations where the game director wants to check the validity of a try. Today, international rugby is run by replays,” he continued.

“It takes so much time, ruins the match so much, and increases the stadium supporters’ rage.”