Quick Hands
David Wilson (68)
Ben Skeen is the TMO again, so he can seemingly destroy a game without even getting on the field.
Apart from engineering last week's fiasco from the TMO box, he has prior form. A man clearly desperate to put his stamp on the game - even though he's supposed to play an advisory role. The final play of the 1st test saw Ireland denied a fair try because apparently the technology the Skeen had saw a knock on that nobody else saw. Add to the farcical no-try decision on the basis of a minor tackle off the ball (not card worthy, so why TMO involvement). Sad that an individual was such a minor role can have such a negative influence on the game.
But if this match is remembered for anything, it'll be the contribution of Television Match Official Ben Skeen. His influence was significant; not just in overturning two Vince Aso tries but in adjudicating a lot of the running play, rather than referee Jamie Nutbrown.
From Huuricanes v Sunwolves; take it away Chris Boyd (Hurricanes coach)
"From an adjudication point of view, I don't think the game flowed at all," said Boyd.
"From the interjections of the TMO, which were probably mostly right, it didn't flow. I think they were being ultra-hard in some of their decisions which brought the game a lot to a stop-start.
"If you look at that performance, I think the referee was a significant part of the way the game played out. Where, when the game controls the referee, rather than the other way around, I think you get a better result."
Penalties, knock-ons, you name it. A lot of them were actually ruled upon by the man upstairs instead of Nutbrown.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby...nce-of-referees-in-scrappy-win-over-sunwolves
