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Sydney Morning Herald
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
A Wallabies great fell 23 minutes short of a Lions shock. This is his game plan
Twelve years after he fell 23 minutes shy of inspiring a historic triumph, Wallabies great James Horwill issued a stunning declaration. 'The Wallabies can get the job done,' he told this masthead, on the eve of the British and Irish Lions series. 'If we keep our guys on the park and fit, I'm very confident we can get the job done.' Horwill, the last man to captain the nation into a Lions series, was left to lament a three-try, 10-minute burst from the 57th minute in the third Test that buried their hopes in 2013. He recalls the missed penalty goal after the siren at Suncorp Stadium which sealed their opening Test defeat, after Christian Lealiifano was concussed early and Berrick Barnes and Pat McCabe were also forced off with injuries. And while the Wallabies would bounce back in a one-point thriller in Melbourne, a boilover was not to be. Yet even without injured stars Noah Lolesio, Rob Valetini and Will Skelton, Horwill was adamant the current group could complete the task. How the Wallabies can get the edge While the Lions have gone unbeaten from their five tour encounters thus far, Horwill has seen chinks in their armour. Despite a host of Wallabies not partaking, the Brumbies and Waratahs went toe-to-toe with their juggernaut rivals, winning a combined 14 turnovers to three. 'The Tahs showed that a bit of line speed [can pressure the Lions], and probably the disruption of the breakdown that both teams targeted quite aggressively,' Horwill said. 'I'm sure Joe Schmidt's been looking at that going 'maybe there's an opportunity there for us'. When you've got guys like Fraser McReight and Carlo Tizzano, they are out-and-out ball hawks. Loading 'The Brumbies had a very similar game – a lot of disruption to their flow, a lot driven from that defensive breakdown disrupted the flow and pattern the Lions wanted to play. 'No doubt [Lions coach] Andy Farrell and his assistants have kept a lot of stuff up their sleeve ... but the Wallabies have a bit of vision to work with.' The Wallabies still need to convert that pressure into points, but Horwill believed even in a 52-12 defeat, the Reds proved it can be done when daring to throw caution to the wind. A grubber from halfback Kalani Thomas was scooped up by centre Josh Flook to score, while prop Jeffery Toomaga-Allen's try came on the back of short passes at the line from inside their own half to generate field position. The guile of fullback Tom Wright, aerial threat of Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii, audacious X-factor of Len Ikitau, and ruck speed of Tate McDermott will all be key strike weapons to utilise. 'They [the Reds] started well and showed when they hold the ball in phase play in their 22 they were able to create concerns, and throw things up that were a little bit different,' Horwill said. 'It took the Lions out of their comfort zone. That's something the Wallabies have to look at.' The captain and the warrior Horwill still cannot fathom how his former teammate, James Slipper, continues to pack down in the scrum after 140 Tests. But the Wallabies most-capped player will have a role to play beyond his physical prowess. Harry Wilson will captain in the greatest challenge of his career – an incredible resurgence from the star No.8, who was left out of the 2023 World Cup squad under Eddie Jones. Even after suffering broken arms in consecutive seasons since, the relentless ball-runner has become Schmidt's most influential figure. 'He has always been a barometer who gets the guys on the front foot. He's growing and maturing as an individual and understanding what it takes to get the best out of his body,' Horwill said. Loading 'The way he's bounced back is unique, [and] he seems to perform better with the leadership.' Where Horwill had Stephen Moore and Ben Alexander in support, Slipper – who joins George Smith as the only Wallabies to play in back-to-back series – will be that for Wilson. But the 25-year-old's long-standing connection with flanker Fraser McReight – praised by McDermott as 'a real strength of ours' for their support play and interchange of passing – looms as a point-of-difference to break the Lions apart. 'They haven't only played at Reds level but from lower down through the years, so having that sixth sense is great for both of them to know where they are,' Horwill said. 'Having combinations like that, if you're under pressure and under stress, you've got to understand sometimes you don't need to communicate, you can't communicate, you just know guys are there.' Is Lynagh ready for this stage? It would have been a moment of heartbreak for incumbent five-eighth Lolesio when he was ruled out of the series, having undergone neck surgery after being stretched off in Australia's clash with Fiji. It has thrown Tom Lynagh into the furnace, where he will create the first father-son pairing to challenge the Lions after his father, Michael, did the same in 1989. At 22, and coming off a finger injury, it is an almighty task for a man who has fought expectations of his famous surname. But while his four Test caps to date have come off the bench, Horwill has seen enough to suggest he was ready – if he and his teammates embraced the forthcoming pressure. 'Tommy's got a very cool head on his shoulders. He's got a very good kicking game – his out of hand kicking has been very strong – and I'm confident he's got the ability to get the job done,' Horwill said. 'It's clear there's going to be some intent, there's going to be some traffic in his way. He can deal with it. 'It's a big atmosphere, but the focus and the process has got to be the same.
The Age
13 hours ago
- Sport
- The Age
A Wallabies great fell 23 minutes short of a Lions shock. This is his game plan
Twelve years after he fell 23 minutes shy of inspiring a historic triumph, Wallabies great James Horwill issued a stunning declaration. 'The Wallabies can get the job done,' he told this masthead, on the eve of the British and Irish Lions series. 'If we keep our guys on the park and fit, I'm very confident we can get the job done.' Horwill, the last man to captain the nation into a Lions series, was left to lament a three-try, 10-minute burst from the 57th minute in the third Test that buried their hopes in 2013. He recalls the missed penalty goal after the siren at Suncorp Stadium which sealed their opening Test defeat, after Christian Lealiifano was concussed early and Berrick Barnes and Pat McCabe were also forced off with injuries. And while the Wallabies would bounce back in a one-point thriller in Melbourne, a boilover was not to be. Yet even without injured stars Noah Lolesio, Rob Valetini and Will Skelton, Horwill was adamant the current group could complete the task. How the Wallabies can get the edge While the Lions have gone unbeaten from their five tour encounters thus far, Horwill has seen chinks in their armour. Despite a host of Wallabies not partaking, the Brumbies and Waratahs went toe-to-toe with their juggernaut rivals, winning a combined 14 turnovers to three. 'The Tahs showed that a bit of line speed [can pressure the Lions], and probably the disruption of the breakdown that both teams targeted quite aggressively,' Horwill said. 'I'm sure Joe Schmidt's been looking at that going 'maybe there's an opportunity there for us'. When you've got guys like Fraser McReight and Carlo Tizzano, they are out-and-out ball hawks. Loading 'The Brumbies had a very similar game – a lot of disruption to their flow, a lot driven from that defensive breakdown disrupted the flow and pattern the Lions wanted to play. 'No doubt [Lions coach] Andy Farrell and his assistants have kept a lot of stuff up their sleeve ... but the Wallabies have a bit of vision to work with.' The Wallabies still need to convert that pressure into points, but Horwill believed even in a 52-12 defeat, the Reds proved it can be done when daring to throw caution to the wind. A grubber from halfback Kalani Thomas was scooped up by centre Josh Flook to score, while prop Jeffery Toomaga-Allen's try came on the back of short passes at the line from inside their own half to generate field position. The guile of fullback Tom Wright, aerial threat of Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii, audacious X-factor of Len Ikitau, and ruck speed of Tate McDermott will all be key strike weapons to utilise. 'They [the Reds] started well and showed when they hold the ball in phase play in their 22 they were able to create concerns, and throw things up that were a little bit different,' Horwill said. 'It took the Lions out of their comfort zone. That's something the Wallabies have to look at.' The captain and the warrior Horwill still cannot fathom how his former teammate, James Slipper, continues to pack down in the scrum after 140 Tests. But the Wallabies most-capped player will have a role to play beyond his physical prowess. Harry Wilson will captain in the greatest challenge of his career – an incredible resurgence from the star No.8, who was left out of the 2023 World Cup squad under Eddie Jones. Even after suffering broken arms in consecutive seasons since, the relentless ball-runner has become Schmidt's most influential figure. 'He has always been a barometer who gets the guys on the front foot. He's growing and maturing as an individual and understanding what it takes to get the best out of his body,' Horwill said. Loading 'The way he's bounced back is unique, [and] he seems to perform better with the leadership.' Where Horwill had Stephen Moore and Ben Alexander in support, Slipper – who joins George Smith as the only Wallabies to play in back-to-back series – will be that for Wilson. But the 25-year-old's long-standing connection with flanker Fraser McReight – praised by McDermott as 'a real strength of ours' for their support play and interchange of passing – looms as a point-of-difference to break the Lions apart. 'They haven't only played at Reds level but from lower down through the years, so having that sixth sense is great for both of them to know where they are,' Horwill said. 'Having combinations like that, if you're under pressure and under stress, you've got to understand sometimes you don't need to communicate, you can't communicate, you just know guys are there.' Is Lynagh ready for this stage? It would have been a moment of heartbreak for incumbent five-eighth Lolesio when he was ruled out of the series, having undergone neck surgery after being stretched off in Australia's clash with Fiji. It has thrown Tom Lynagh into the furnace, where he will create the first father-son pairing to challenge the Lions after his father, Michael, did the same in 1989. At 22, and coming off a finger injury, it is an almighty task for a man who has fought expectations of his famous surname. But while his four Test caps to date have come off the bench, Horwill has seen enough to suggest he was ready – if he and his teammates embraced the forthcoming pressure. 'Tommy's got a very cool head on his shoulders. He's got a very good kicking game – his out of hand kicking has been very strong – and I'm confident he's got the ability to get the job done,' Horwill said. 'It's clear there's going to be some intent, there's going to be some traffic in his way. He can deal with it. 'It's a big atmosphere, but the focus and the process has got to be the same.
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Irish set to dominate in Andy Farrell's Lions Test squad
Lions fever hasn't yet landed in Brisbane, even if the supporters are arriving in Queensland by the bucketload. You don't have to go far in Brisbane to see a Lions jersey or t-shirt or rucksack, and there were so many knocking around Dubai airport on Tuesday, it was as if they were handing them out at the door. It will be interesting to see how much of the 52,500 Suncorp Stadium is red on Saturday, or rather, how much of it is gold. As enthusiastic as the touring groups are, their hosts haven't been bitten by the same bug. All that would change if the Wallabies pull off a shock in Brisbane this Sunday, particularly with Tom Lynagh at out-half. The son of Wallabies great Michael Lynagh, 22-year-old Tom looks set to be handed the keys to the Wallabies backline this week in the absence of Noah Lolesio, with Joe Scmidt throwing a curveball and giving him his first Wallabies start on just his fourth Test appearance. Schmidt will confirm his squad on Thursday (4.30am Irish time), while Andy Farrell will follow at 6am (Irish time), with his side expected to have a green glow, even if it's not as green as it had been expected to be a few days ago. Garry Ringrose has been ruled out due to concussion, and Mack Hansen is likely to miss the first Test due to a foot injury, with both players having been expected to feature in the matchday 23 if fit. Prior to his concussion, Ringrose had been narrowly leading a competitive race for the 13 jersey against Huw Jones. Jones' performance in Saturday's 48-0 win against the AUNZ Invitational was good enough that it could well have tipped the scales in his favour even if Ringrose was available, and that debate may be revisited later in the tour. Ringrose's absence may have a knock-on effect on Bundee Aki. The Irish centre pairing had started and looked sharp against the Brumbies a week ago in Canberra, although Farrell now looks likely to pair Jones with his Scotland team-mate Sione Tuipulotu for the opening Test in Brisbane. The rest of the backline looks easy to predict. Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell have been the standout half-back combination so far, and it looks as though Alex Mitchell and Marcus Smith will get the nod to support them from the bench. Farrell's decision to call his son Owen up to the squad appeared to be a death-sentence for Marcus and Fin Smith's Test chances, and although Owen was excellent in his second half appearance in Adelaide on Saturday, it's reported that Marcus Smith has done enough to keep his place in the matchday 23. With Blair Kinghorn yet to recover from his knee injury, Hugo Keenan (above) is the easy choice at full-back, while James Lowe has looked like first choice on the left wing all tour. On the right wing, Tommy Freeman has consistently impressed, and while he was facing competition from Hansen for the jersey, the latter's foot injury should seal Freeman's place in the 14 shirt. The big call Farrell will have to make is in his back row, where he has big decisions to make on both flanks, where Tom Curry, Jac Morgan and Josh van der Flier can all make compelling cases for the starting openside flanker slot. As the incumbent, Curry appears to be leading the race to start, and while either Morgan or Van der Flier wouldn't be out of place in a starting team, the harsh reality is that both could miss out on the matchday 23 entirely, with speculation that Ben Earl's performance last weekend has done enough to see him beat the pair, and Henry Pollock, to a place on the bench. That order may well be revisited across the series. Jack Conan should get the nod at number 8, while blindside flanker should be a straight shootout between Tadhg Beirne (below) and Ollie Chessum. Beirne had been expected to start alongside Maro Itoje in the second row prior to the tour, but the form of Joe McCarthy has ensured he'll now most likely partner the tour captain at lock. The trend so far on this tour has been for the Lions to go for a hybrid lock at openside flanker, and while Chessum has been excellent so far, Beirne's ability at the breakdown could offer a lot to a Lions side that looked exposed at the ruck in their win against the Brumbies last week. The silver lining for whoever misses out is that they will more than likely be involved off the bench, with Farrell expected to go for a traditional 5:3 split. In the front row, Farrell will call on his two Irish hookers, with Dan Sheehan a shoo-in to start, and Rónan Kelleher also nailed on for a place in the squad, with Jamie George only joining the squad today following his late call up. Ellis Genge and Andrew Porter will be the Test looseheads, with Pierre Schoeman's place in the pecking order established by his 80-minute shift last Saturday. There is very little between Genge and Porter, although the pattern of previous selections would indicate that Genge is likely to get the starting jersey, with Porter coming on early in the second half. With the form both players are in right now, there is no wrong answer to the question of who starts. Tadhg Furlong's (above) return to form is likely to see him start at tighthead, maintaining his record of starting every Test for the Lions across 2017, 2021 and now 2025. Behind him, Will Stuart and Finlay Bealham will be vying for a spot among the replacements. Bealham's inclusion in the squad would mark an incredible story, given he missed out on the initial squad, coming in as a replacement for the injured Zander Fagerson before the tour. Regardless, Farrell's matchday squad is likely to see the Irish involvement in double figures, with potentially eight Ireland internationals in the starting team.
The 42
3 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
'I'm an Irish-Australian, more than an Australian who's Irish'
IT'S NO WONDER that Ruaidhrí Murphy has made a success of coaching in Japanese rugby. He has embraced a nomadic sort of lifestyle from the beginning. Murphy was born in Dublin but moved with his family to Australia at the age of two. 12 years later, they returned to Ireland. He came through the Leinster system, then moved to Exeter before shifting to Australia again. Two years later, he was back on Irish soil with Ulster, but fast forward another couple of years, and Murphy was Down Under again. It makes sense that the coffee shop he and his wife, Celeste, own in Canberra is called Nomad. 38-year-old Murphy is coaching with Suntory Sungoliath in Tokyo these days, but he and his family are regular visitors back to Canberra, where he played and coached with the Brumbies and still has the coffee shop, a house, and a car. He was on Aussie soil last week along with a couple of other Suntory coaches. They were in with the Waratahs and then Stephen Larkham's Brumbies, observing both sides' preparations to face the touring Lions. That meant an opportunity to sit down and discuss what has been an intriguing journey in rugby and life so far. 'I'm an Irish-Australian, I would say more than an Australian who's Irish,' said Murphy in a quiet hotel café in Canberra. 'Heart is probably Irish, but this here is really familiar. You don't feel wrong here at all, or foreign here or fake here, not pretending when we're here, it feels like home as well. It's a weird mix. 'But yeah, I would say we're Irish-Australians, not the other way.' It was his father's work as an electrician that started the love affair with Australia in 1989. Oz was booming and there was a shortage of tradespeople and nurses. The Murphys went to a fair at the RDS and jumped at the opportunity, moving to Perth. 'That became home,' said Murphy, who was 14 when his parents decided to go back to Ireland. They had both lost their fathers and it was a case of 'now or never.' Murphy playing for Lansdowne in 2008. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Murphy loved being around his cousins but didn't like it in Irish school when they moved home to Arklow in County Wicklow. Things settled when he went off to boarding school at Castleknock College in Dublin. He had played more rugby league and baseball in Australia, but Murphy started to make a name for himself as a loosehead prop with Castleknock, playing for Leinster and Ireland Schools before featuring in an excellent Ireland U20s squad that won a Grand Slam in 2007. 'It was a great group,' said Murphy. 'You had people like Cian Healy, who was locked in and was going to develop quickly.' The U20s forwards coach, Dan McFarland, tried to convince Murphy to come across to Connacht on a senior contract, but he opted for an academy deal with his native Leinster. He never got a senior debut for his province but learned huge amounts from being in the Leinster set-up in the years before they took the step to winning their first Heineken Cup in 2009. 'I guarantee it's still the same today, the academy's elite,' said Murphy. 'There's an ethic, there's a standard because you might have your three-year cycle in the academy, but you've got to earn your progression through that cycle. There's no given there.' Advertisement With Healy fast-tracked, Ollie Le Roux there, and CJ van der Linde coming in at loosehead, opportunities were scarce and Murphy decided to move to Exeter, then in the English Championship. He helped them get promoted to the Premiership and stay there, before the Brumbies popped up. Current Wallabies assistant Laurie Fisher, who was on his way back to Canberra from Munster, made the connection. He had noticed the Irishman with an Aussie accent. Murphy jumped at signing for an 'iconic' team like the Brumbies. It was an exciting time. Jake White had taken over in the wake of a disastrous 2011. Murphy was one of 16 new players. Aled Walters, the Lions' and Ireland's head of S&C, was there. Larkham and Fisher were on the coaching staff, and Dan McKellar was involved too. 'Jake put in world-class people to make systems and processes and expectation,' said Murphy. 'And then he obviously left because he got another bigger calling, but the foundation was laid and it was never let go.' Murphy playing Super Rugby for the Brumbies. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Murphy excelled to the point that he was briefly being discussed as a possible Wallabies call-up, even though he was classified as a non-Australian player despite living there for 12 years as a child. It was 2014 when the call came from Ulster. The idea of being back home in Ireland near his family was hard to resist. Murphy had just turned 27 and it was an interesting move at the time. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. 'It was a bit of a mess,' said Murphy. 'I signed for Mark Anscombe and David Humphreys, and when I rocked up, they were both gone.' Murphy missed pre-season because the Brumbies made the Super Rugby semi-finals and was always playing catch-up. His second season started more promisingly but then he broke his hand twice and that proved to be the end of his playing career. 'My hand's still busted, it never became 100% again,' said Murphy. 'I broke my finger and paralysed the hand, so I can't close my fist. For a front rower… 'For the first year, if I accidentally knocked it against anything, it would blow up. I saw a surgeon back here after we came back and I was trying to get her to cut it off. It was that bad.' The whole experience back in Ulster left Murphy mentally scarred. Forced into early retirement, he felt he was done with rugby altogether. He and Celeste had just got engaged and their plan was to 'rip into life' in Canberra. In hindsight, though, Murphy was probably always destined to be a coach. He feels fully at home in this profession. 'I'm a super diligent person,' he said. 'I'm on the edge of OCD, planning helps me. I've been that way apparently since I was born. Like, line up cars, sort out my own uniforms, I was self-sufficient across organisational stuff.' He was also a very technical, thoughtful player. 'I had to be fit, strong, and technical because I wasn't naturally an angry player. 'I didn't have natural pig and anger, I wasn't in your face, it wasn't my game ever. You play a nasty position, so I had to find a different way to do it. 'And I reckon you probably need that at an elite level, it probably held me back. I was the best Monday to Friday. I probably didn't have enough good Saturdays.' Murphy was with Ulster from 2014 to 2016. Presseye / Matt Mackey/INPHO Presseye / Matt Mackey/INPHO / Matt Mackey/INPHO Being around the likes of Michael Cheika, Rob Baxter, White, Fisher, and Larkham rubbed off on him too. It was the Brumbies who gave him the chance to coach, initially working with their U20s. As he launched the coffee shop, Murphy also began coaching with the Gungahlin Eagles, Mack Hansen's club, then he was involved with the Canberra Vikings in the now-defunct National Rugby Championship before two happy years as an Australia U20s assistant coach. Murphy threw himself into coaching, taking every opportunity to improve his craft, something he continues now with coaching development visits to clubs around the world, as with last week's trip back to Australia. He ended up getting the Brumbies' scrum coaching gig in Super Rugby and loved being there until the Japan chapter opened in 2020. The Ricoh Black Rams in Tokyo needed a young, energetic forwards coach and there was a two-year offer on the table. The Brumbies wanted to keep Murphy but head coach McKellar told him it was an offer they couldn't match. The Covid-19 pandemic made the initial stages of life in Japan difficult, even if the Murphys and their first daughter, Alana, got to Ireland at one stage. 'We were the only people on the plane from Tokyo to Dublin,' said Murphy. 'I can't tell you, it was the weirdest experience. 'Just the three of us on the plane with the cabin crew. It was so strange.' Last year, Murphy made the short move across town to Suntory Sungoliath, one of the biggest clubs in Japan, and is enjoying the experience of working with top-class players like Sam Cane and Cheslin Kolbe. 'The only thing acceptable at Suntory is winning,' said Murphy. His parents and two siblings have enjoyed visiting Japan on a couple of trips from Ireland, while Murphy's own family have integrated wonderfully into Japanese life. Alana is now six-and-a-half, her brother Geordan is three, and little Ronan arrived in February of this year. Murphy at training in Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath Suntory Sungoliath 'We've got no support in Japan, it's us,' said Murphy. 'And in Japan, it's trains everywhere, up and down. The kids love it. They say they want sushi for dinner or they want to go eat ramen. 'Alana speaks Japanese, goes to school with Japanese kids, they just crack on. My wife, if she didn't like it, it would be hard. But she loves it there. It's safe. The old Irish way, we can send Alana to the shop to get something, no problem.' Murphy himself understands how moving around when you're young gives you a resilience and an openness to the world that never leaves. His family back in Ireland remain hopeful that Ruairidh's journey has another twist ahead, one that brings him back home. He's not someone who has a great master plan, although he'd love to be involved in a World Cup at some stage and feels he could manage the step up to being a head coach in the future. 'Long story short, if something came up for me to do in Ireland, my family would beg me to take it,' he said. 'And we would love to, what an opportunity.'
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Owen Doyle: Lions tour has shown that TMO protocol is in serious need of review
The midweek match against the Brumbies was a long way away from champagne rugby, but much better than the vin ordinaire we'd been served up to then. The Lions , however, did not deliver the much needed breakdown ferocity that they're really going to have to produce in the Tests. However, on Saturday, against the cobbled-together AUNZ outfit, the Lions at long last got the cork out of the bottle, playing some flowing, stylish rugby. That's said with the proviso that their opponents defence leaked frequently, like an old bucket. French referee Pierre Brousset had an indifferent afternoon in the Brumbies game. The breakdown area saw bodies flying all over the place and while Brousset did give a few off-feet penalties, too much went unpunished. It's not actually a question of increasing the number of penalties. Players will change their behaviour if they are sanctioned, or know they will be. There was better breakdown behaviour and a more measured performance by Andrea Piardi in the AUNZ match. The final Brumbies' try was preceded by two classic side entries from the home team. For the Lions, Joe McCarthy and Henry Pollock threw themselves over the breakdown a couple of times and we still didn't hear from Brousset. READ MORE As for the scrum, the collapse issue was once again evident. Both referees were inconsistent, even hesitant, in deciding when to reset collapses, penalise them or play on with or without advantage. I found myself guessing what they'd do – let's hope they weren't. There were also tight in-goal decisions. James Lowe and Maro Itoje had tries ruled out, whereas the ball, from some camera angles, looked to be 'probably' grounded. But 'probably' is not enough for the microscopic examination of a formal on-screen review: it must be indisputable. The on-field decision of the referee is absolutely critical to the outcome. On both occasions Brousset stated 'no try,' and there wasn't enough evidence for him to change his call. It's hard to blame the referee, but if he'd said 'on-field decision is a try', then both would have been scores. It adds up to a very strange sort of paradox. The TMO protocol obviously needs another serious review. Referee Andrea Piardi generally controlled the breakdown well when officiating the Lions' match against an Australia/New Zealand selection match. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Lowe did cross for a terrific team try after quite amazing work by the omnipresent Dan Sheehan. Despite carrying the ball into a heavy collision with David Felliuai on the right hand side, Sheehan still managed to place it, enabling the move to continue. He then became the vital link as the ball was shifted quickly wide to the left before passing to Jack Conan, who handed Lowe a stroll into the corner. Following Australia's escape against Fiji there is a lot of discussion around the TMO's involvement. There is plenty of annoyance that Fiji had a try ruled out, the TMO noticing that Harry Potter's foot had grazed the touchline moments before Fiji got possession and worked a wonderful pitch-length try. Why chalk off the try for a touch missed by the on-field officials, particularly when Fiji had turned over the ball – that's the thrust of the argument. It's hard to fathom because if a ball-carrier goes out of play the ball is dead and a lineout must restart the match. Putting a foot on the touchline is not an infringement, so play cannot continue, neither can advantage be played. Imagine the bedlam if play-on was possible in such circumstances. But believe me, there are some who wish it to be that way. Maybe the TMO needs to go back to basics and only be used for foul play and when tries have been scored, but only referencing the clear and obvious, which must always be the mantra. Not something that takes minutes for the officials to debate. That was pretty much how things started out, but, bit by bit, we've ended up where we are now. TMOs are currently involving themselves in the most marginal events in open play, which was not part of the original plan. In the Waratahs match, referee Paul Williams called several things – 'it went backwards' or 'play on' – only for the TMO to immediately overrule him. The referee was happy to immediately accept the correction. It's all in search of the impossible dream, a perfect performance. But there is another reason. Elite coaches and their analysts will get out their own microscope searching for errors. They are unforgiving, particularly if a mistake has been result-altering. It's normally done behind the closed doors of confidentiality; nonetheless, the ref gets a pretty hard time of it. In last week's matches, the lineout problem raised its ugly head again. Both referees continued the apparent 'policy' of ignoring crooked throws, even if the opposition put up a jumper. It's such a simple fix, just a couple of sanctions would see a real effort to throw the ball along the line of touch. Instead, the lineout remains on the slippery slope towards extinction as a contest for possession, helped on its way by slack officiating. In an ironic moment, Tadgh Beirne was penalised for jumping across when attempting to reach a crooked throw. He did, but it had zero impact on AUNZ winning possession. Rónan Kelleher then scored a try, having been fed a short 'straight' ball as he stood at the front. While a throw here or there might be nicked, or go awry, the overwhelming majority go with serve. Match officials need to recognise that there must be a contest for possession and call these. Otherwise, their job might well be handed to AI.
