Broadcast options for Australian Rugby

[Wilson]

To be honest I care much less about the players seeing the shot clock for their own kicks compared to the product the fans are getting. A kick timing out isn't actually a problem in that respect, but no one really knowing what the hell is happening is. I brought stan up specifically because Payten's tweet only confirmed the stadium would have the clock for the Wallabies next game, no mention of the broadcast.

 

[Adam84]

I know this is a bit of a tangent, but i'd question how many penalty kicks this season were actually taken within the set time..The issue is that each referee has their own interpretation and arbitrary time period placed on various situations.

How many times have we heard the referee say 'use it' to the halfback for them only to grab the ball back another couple of meters and take their time to take a box kick? Or telling a player at the back of the maul to use the ball, has this ever been penalised?

Likewise, the time limit when players are awarded a penalty for taking a kick for touch is rarely enforced, but then it is pulled out in crucial moments like a Bledisloe in the 79th minute. Lack of consistency in how far a maul must move forward or remain stationary before it counts as stalling and telling the team to use the ball.

It's the lack of consistency and transparency about these rules and interpretations that frustrate fans. It's a massive failure on World Rugby and SANZAAR/RA/NZRU that they haven't done more to ensure a more consistent level of officiating and rule interpretations.

 

[Braveheart81]

I totally get the referee management of not wanting to cause a stoppage unnecessarily and giving some leeway regarding "use it" etc. but if you do that, you can't backtrack on that substantially late in the game when things are tense.

It has always been an accepted refereeing practice to blow a couple of penalties early in a game for offside etc. to set the tone that players can't take liberties and ensure a more free flowing game. The same should apply here. Be harsh in the first 20 minutes of the game to set the tone that players have to stick to the 5 second rule etc. and then expect it to be followed.

No one wants to see games decided by inconsistent and petty decisions. A law of the game that not only hasn't been enforced for the first 70 minutes of that game but also generally isn't enforced at all shouldn't suddenly be remembered at a crucial moment.

 

[Rebel man]

100% you need a shot clock make it a hard and fast rule. The AFL introducing one has been good for the game

 

[Strewthcobber]

The real issue here is there are currently 4 clocks running. The ref's, the official timekeeper's, the broadcaster's and the ground crew's

Because there is no coordination between Stan, SkyNZ, the actual producers of the broadcast, and the various grounds across 4(?) countries, it's all kind of just hacked together at the moment.

The broadcast clock is regularly changed mid-game to match the official's, and it often doesn't match the ground clock die to technology delays

With a shot clock it all has to match. That's been too hard (until now by the sound of things?)

 

[Wilson]

They have been running shot clocks in the Northern hemisphere pretty much since the rule change. While I understand there is a technical challenge there it is a very solvable one. I'd argue the issue hasn't been so much how hard it was but how much the relevant institutions care. Given how quickly the NZRU have acted after being burnt by not having them that certainly seems to be the case.

 

[Adam84]

With modern technology we can get the heart rate, impact of head knocks and live speed of an athlete on the pitch, but we can't coordinate time keeping.

Surely rugby isn't the only code with time keeping considerations, how do other professional sporting organizstions manage it? FIFA/NRL

 

[Strewthcobber]

Yeah, this is a Super Rugby/SANZAAR problem, not a technology one.

It can easily be solved, there just hasn't been anyone driving a solution

 

[JRugby2]

Shot clock to be introduced for second All Blacks-England Test after McKenzie drama

New Zealand Rugby said Tuesday that a timer will be introduced for goal-kickers in Saturday's second Test between the All Blacks and England, following Damian McKenzie's blunder last weekend.

www.rugby.com.au

Just a reminder that this is entirely under the control of the home nation/ broadcaster/ stadium to implement these things for the fans/ players. WR (World Rugby) does have broadcast and host guidelines but anything to do with match timings sits with the referees and their own time keeping. Often there is strict collaboration (eg I know in QLD for example that the match officials have a timekeeper that sits with the broadcast and stadium teams to ensure everything is aligned) but displaying that time is the responsibility of the home nation.

TL;DR - this isn't "rugby's" fault, it's NZR and D-Macs. And there is no conspiracy that 3 days later after it impacts NZ it's fixed, its NZR owning their own fuck up.

 

[Strewthcobber]

It's a bit simplistic to just blame NZRU.

There wasn't a shotclock at the ground last week in Sydney, and as far as I'm aware, we aren't going to have a shotclock at the ground for the test match in Melbourne this weekend

 

[Wilson]

Shot clock has been confirmed for AAMI park this weekend:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1810911031947915560

 

[Strewthcobber]

There we go!

Good news. I should never have ditched twitter

 

[JRugby2]

It's a bit simplistic to just blame NZRU. There wasn't a shotclock at the ground last week in Sydney, and as far as I'm aware, we aren't going to have a shotclock at the ground for the test match in Melbourne this weekend

Not really - they are the sole entity (beyond the stadium) that had control over this. Just like RA / AAMI park is this weekend

 

[Braveheart81]

I can imagine the challenge for the stadium game day people is when do you start the timer and unless it happens on the signal of the referee, how do you make it official rather than being anything more than a guide.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the timer on a penalty commences when a team opts to take a shot at goal (not when the penalty is awarded) so if you're sitting in a booth 80 metres away, it might not be clear when that call has been made.

For a try you have 90 seconds which starts when the try is awarded, but what happens if there is a pause in that process with the TMO checking something or the referee involves the TMO from the start? The timer should surely not be 90 seconds if there has been a TMO break before the try is awarded.

 

[JRugby2]

It's not a perfect timing system like say, an olympic race. But typically there is a timekeeper appointed by the referees (usually a local) who will have both the comms to the main team of referees and the relevant law knowledge/ match day protocol knowledge to make sure they are as closely aligned as possible.

Referees will also formally signal a review if there is an official TMO check (ie: TMO's 'sweeping' the play in the background to check for infringements post try isn't impacting the game, therefore not time off therefore included in the 90s)

In some stadiums they can also activate on screen graphics, like a short description of what penalty was awarded - or a shot clock. I don't know if this is possible in all stadiums however - hence it being the responsibility of the host to make these provisions available.

 

[Rebel man]

It doesn’t have to be an exact science. If they are out by half a second it is an improvement on guess work

 

[Braveheart81]

I think the key there is you would need to accept that the timer on the big screen at the ground is then the official one.

If the referee's timer is 2 seconds ahead of the scoreboard it would potentially be worse than the status quo. Imagine the drama if the scoreboard says the kicker has 2 seconds to take their kick and is running in and then the referee blows their whistle saying they were too slow?

 

[JRugby2]

100% - just saw the roar article from monday, this was a huge cock up on the weekend...

 

[Rebel man]

The AFL the time disappears in the last seconds due to this reason as the broadcast clock is just a guide and not the official time.

 

[Adam84]

it's 2024.... it doesn't need to be guess work... having synchronised and connected timekeeping devices isn't a hard concept,

All timekeeping input from the referee goes to a centralised sideline ingestion service with API feeds that the broadcaster can pull in real time supporting the broadcast.