Scott Johnson predicts referral system in rugby to appeal tries

RA director of rugby Scott Johnson feels it just a matter of time before the game adopts a referral system for controversial tries.

Rugby Australia director of rugby Scott Johnson. Picture: Stu Walmsley

Rugby Australia’s director of rugby Scott Johnson believes it is only a matter of time before teams are permitted one “referral” per half of football to the television match official (TMO) when a controversial try is scored against them.

The idea was contained in the proposed initiatives worked up by the four Australian Super Rugby coaches as a conversation starter before the rebooted provincial competition likely to start in July. Johnson insisted that the proposals devised by Dan McKellar (Brumbies), Dave Wessels (Melbourne Rebels), Rob Penney (Waratahs) and Brad Thorn (Reds) would now go to the planning committee for debate before Rugby Australia takes a final package to its broadcaster, Fox Sports, for approval.

Johnson warned that, even if the final product was entirely Australian — a five-way home-and-away contest involving the four Super Rugby sides and the Western Force — any law changes or variations would still need to be signed off by World Rugby. There is, as well, the fact that eventually this year Test match rugby will come back onto the schedule and Johnson wants to ensure that players are not confused by two sets of rules. But, as Wessels explained on Monday to The Australian, some of the proposals do not involve changing any rules. “There is actually a law around time-wasting, for example,” Wessels said. “We all as coaches felt that if you are taking longer than 30 seconds to set a scrum, then you are acting against the spirit of the game and we are going to ask the referee to penalise you.”

Johnson admitted he was excited by some of the suggestions, particularly the ability of captains to challenge a try ruling against his side.

“It will happen at some stage,” Johnson predicted. “It needs to be trialled. Who would have thought we would have cricket referrals. I never thought I would see that in my lifetime.”

Indeed, he believed two of the coaches’ recommended proposals could well be worked into an all-Australian competition later this year. World Rugby had already approved three law amendments for trialling in the National Rugby Championship this year although the NRC is likely to be cancelled.

“In that event, we could take it to them and say that we are prepared to trial it if we come up with a purely domestic competition. We can ask for dispensation,” Johnson said.

The laws variations also put forward by the Super Rugby coaches are the introduction of an infringement (penalty or free kick) limit for a team, which would see the next offender given a mandatory yellow card, and a goal-line dropout, rather than a 5m scrum if a player is held up over the tryline.

The only law variation not advanced by the coaches was the 50-22 kick that has been borrowed from rugby league. The theory is that teams will drop wingers back to cover for such kicks and in doing so will make it easier for the attacking team, but research has shown that the defensive side has more men in the line that the attacking team — which is forced to commit players to the breakdown to protect the ball — so it is unlikely that dropping players back would seriously weaken the defence.

Johnson, indeed, was sufficiently inspired by the coaches’ work to himself suggest a radical innovation — shining a laser light across the field aimed at the last feet in the ruck. That way, everyone would know who was onside and who was overstepping the mark in defence. “I know the Kiwis would be up for this, having a laser across the field at a ruck,” Johnson said. “Because it was Ian Foster (the All Black coach) who came up with the idea.”

Australia’s most successful coach, Rod Macqueen, heartily endorsed the initiative taken by the Super Rugby coaches. He has been an integral part of the study being conducted by a bunch of senior Wallabies headed by former Australian centre Barry Honan, but he was delighted when the coaches also joined the fray. “The really good thing is that it is not political,” Macqueen said. “There is a bit of unity coming back into Australian rugby.”