World Rugby have issued a strong statement in which World Cup referees admitted their opening round performances were “not consistently of the standards set by World Rugby and themselves”.
Several referees and match official teams came under fire in the opening round for contentious decisions, including Ben O’Keeffe and the team who oversaw the Wallabies’ win over Fiji in Sapporo.
It was argued O’Keeffe and TMO Rowan Kitt erred in not sending Reece Hodge off for a high tackle on Fiji’s Peceli Yato. Hodge was later cited, which means the citing commissioner believed it met the red card threshold.
Australian referee Angus Gardner also came under fire for some contentious calls late in France’s win over Argentina, although Pumas coach Mario Ledesma later apologised for saying the decisions were due to Argentina being “a small nation”.
There was also question marks raised around the circumstances of a tournament-ending injury to Scotland’s Hamish Watson, whose knee was busted via a side entry clean out.
In a strong statement issued by World Rugby, the whistleblowers conceded they’d collectively been off their game in round one.
“Following the usual review of matches, the match officials team recognise that performances over the opening weekend of Rugby World Cup 2019 were not consistently of the standards set by World Rugby and themselves, but World Rugby is confident of the highest standards of officiating moving forward,” the statement said.
“Elite match officials are required to make decisions in complex, high-pressure situations and there have been initial challenges with the use of technology and team communication, which have impacted decision-making. These are already being addressed by the team of 23 match officials to enhance consistency.
“Given this proactive approach, a strong team ethic and a superb support structure, World Rugby has every confidence in the team to ensure that Rugby World Cup 2019 delivers the highest levels of accurate, clear and consistent decision-making.”
