Sir Steve Hansen: Rugby made to look ‘ridiculous’ following ‘ludicrous’ comms gaff as he calls for better protocols
Sir Steve Hansen: Rugby made to look 'ridiculous' following 'ludicrous' comms gaff as he calls for better protocols
Former All Blacks head coach Sir Steve Hansen has criticised the technology failure during the fourth Test of the Greatest Rivalry Series, suggesting that it made the game look ‘ridiculous’ in front of the newfound American audience.
Midway through the first half of the Springboks versus the All Blacks in Baltimore on Saturday, the officials’ communications equipment failed, causing a delay of almost 15 minutes while the organisers decided how to rectify the situation.
In the end, the two teams agreed that the referee could continue without the voices in his ear. Much of the damage had been done by this point, however, with many new watchers reportedly turning their attention elsewhere during the break.
“Why don’t we have protocols?” questioned Hansen on the Rugby Unity podcast this week.
“Like, did we think we’d never have a breakdown in communication? So this is the first time this has ever happened that we don’t hear each other, and why does it take so long to come to an understanding?
“It should just be automatic, right? We’ve got no comms, so we just play on, and guess what? I’ll ref. And if I make a mistake, well, that’ll be it. I make a mistake. If you see some foul play, stick your flag out. I mean, how ludicrous are we?”
The officials were engaged in hushed conversation as events unfolded, while organisers rushed around behind the scenes. But for the fans and the players, it was a frustrating wait.
“That ‘oh, I’ll ring down, and then someone will run off over to the sideline and tell the touch judge, and then we’re going to go back for like this’. Going to take five minutes. Yeah, we look stupid. We really do. We look ridiculous,” Hansen blasted.
“We played the game for 100 years the other way, and now we suddenly can’t do it. We’ve got to stand around for 10 minutes while nothing goes on; it ruined the big moment.”
“It’s not foolproof”
The officials’ communications isn’t the only technology Hansen finds an issue with. He’s keen to eliminate the bunker system.
“I took something out of Wayne Bennett [Australian coach and former rugby league player],” continued Hansen. “He had a bit of a crack at the bunker the other day, and he said they put the bunker in place because it was meant to be foolproof, and it’s not. It is not foolproof, so therefore it’s not working. So therefore, do we need it?
“We brought it in because the referee wasn’t foolproof. Now it isn’t foolproof. Nothing ever will be. So let’s just go back to what we had. We Don’t need it. I hate it because I think it just stops the game.”
The TMO was brought into rugby union in 2001 following early domestic trials in 1995 and 1999, and has since been a major factor in the officiating of games over the past two-and-a-half decades. The bunker system is a much newer addition, but Hansen believes that it isn’t benefiting the game.
“We’ve got a judicial officer who goes through the game and finds any foul play that was missed, and, like, the foul play they do find is minimal,” he explained.
“You can’t have it both ways. So if we want something that’s foolproof, it’s got to be foolproof. Well, what we’ve got isn’t foolproof. It’ll never be foolproof.”
