TMO: Refs You Cannot See, But They See All

It looked like a Seawolves’ try. The referee raised his arm to signal it. But when he walked back to mark the conversion kick, he stopped, cocked his head and started a conversation apparently with a voice inside his head. Soon the assistant referee came over from the sideline, and the two-way — no, three-way — conversation continued. Seattle fans held their breath but released it in a heavy collective sigh as the referee spread his arms wide, palms down. No try. Who overruled the ref?

Welcome to the television match official, the TMO. To find out more about these unseen refs, we called on David Wilkinson, the Director of Match Officials for Major League Rugby, to explain the role of the TMO. Here are his emailed answers.

Q. From the example above, the TMO can call the referee. When does that happen?

A. In MLR, the TMO can call only for foul play or anything within two phases of a potential try being scored.

Q. And a referee can signal for the TMO, right?

A. Yes, it works two ways: Ref to TMO, and TMO to ref.

Q. Can anyone else call in the TMO? A team captain? A coach?

A. No. Just the four match officials: Referee, assistant referee 1, assistant referee 2 and the TMO themselves.

Q. Can the TMO alert the referee to a possible penalty, knock-on, forward pass, etc.?

A. TMO always calls on foul play, but the rest only if they are within two phases of a potential try.

Q. If the referee and the TMO disagree, who has the final call?

A. MLR is unique in that the referee doesn’t have a big screen to review the incident themselves. So, in our case the TMO has the final say.

Q. How many TMOs does the MLR have?

A. We have a panel of 9 TMOs, including one female TMO.

Q. How many TMOs are used on a full Major League Rugby weekend? Do TMOs do more than one game per day/weekend?

A. TMOs only do one game per day. But depending on TV scheduling, we might use the same TMO twice over a weekend. So maximum six over a weekend, minimum three.

Q. How do the TMO and the referee communicate?

A. The TMO is usually remote, so the communication is through the Referee Communication system. The referee has an earpiece, and the TMO a microphone. The TMO can always hear the referee. When the TMO wants to talk to the referee he/she pushes a button to talk to them.

Q. Where is the TMO?

A. In MLR, mostly in the TMO Review Centres (Indianapolis or Austin, Texas). Although for Miami and NOLA home games, the TMO is onsite.

Q. What equipment do TMOs have?

A. Two large monitors and a laptop. Most TMOs will also have an iPad/notebook as well.

Q. How many TV angles can the TMO view?

A. TMOs have six angles: the TV camera, a wide-angle camera; a close angle camera, a handheld camera and cameras from behind the posts, particularly useful for TMOs when looking at potential groundings for tries.

The TMO will watch the game on the main TV camera. If they need to review an incident, they will flick between the six camera angles to get the best view.

In MLR, the TMO selects the specific camera angles they want as well as scroll back through the footage.

Q. Do TMOs work or volunteer for the MLR?

A. TMOs are like all MLR match officials and receive a small match fee per game.

Q. If someone wanted to become a TMO, what experience/training would they need? Where would they apply?

A. To become a TMO, individuals would need to have an extensive refereeing background. TMOs are selected from USA Rugby and Rugby Canada pathways. It is not a case of applying.

Q. How do you think the TMO has changed the game?

A. Positives are match officials have a safety net to ensure the correct decision is reached. The negative is it has slowed the game down and created more stoppages.

Q. Lastly, what is the funniest TMO experience you have had?

A. The laptop dying on a TMO, which meant he lost all angles during the game. It was plugged in, but the power cable was faulty. Luckily the TMO was not needed during the outage.

Q. The most important TMO calls made?

A. These would be specific for TMOs. Not me as the ref manager! Luckily, I have only TMO’d a handful of times. It is a very difficult job!

— John B Saul, whose blog, madcapschemes.com, covers rugby and whatever else he finds interesting