Previously allowed to answer questions only on the act of scoring, such as clear grounding of the ball, now the Television Match Official can adjudicate on events during the whole phase leading up to a try, right back to the last stoppage in play if necessary.
Fair enough, though if The Tig ever comes to power, one of the first policy changes will be to extend this role even further and, not only adjudicate on potential scores, but also highlight the good ones. And capture them to watch over and over again.
The super slo-mo, pause and play buttons on The Tig’s player have been working overtime since that Manu Tuilagi try against Worcester in Round 2.
Awarded the Aviva Premiership Try of the Week accolade after an online vote, the impact of the score does not weaken with subsequent replays.
At the time, the noise of the crowd in Welford Road increased with every pass and every metre gained from deep within the Tigers 22 all the way up to the opposite end of the pitch, with the peak coming as Manu dived over.
On film, it looks simply superb; there is great pace in the attack, a clear cutting edge and, above all, a joy in the faces of the players as they close in on the tryline.
If The Tig had been in the TMO caravan, the loop would have still been playing when the ref next decided to have a look at a scoring incident.
“Can you confirm the ball has not been knocked forward please?”
“Pardon?”
“In the build-up to the second try, could you confirm the ball has not been knocked forward?”
“Second try?”
The first Manu try is already etched on Tigers brains. Close your eyes and you can still see it.
Vereniki Goneva steps in to tackle, then rips the ball, Tigers recycle, Sam Harrison looks for Toby Flood who sees what’s on and moves right, Harrison passes, Flood plays. Tom Youngs passes inside to a flying Scott Hamilton. He almost pops to Graham Kitchener, but waits for Flood, then Kitchener takes it on. Tigers have attacked so quickly, Kitch has to step around a retreating defender before feeding on to Anthony Allen. A pass left and Manu is already smiling as he runs, then dives, in at the Clubhouse End. Beautiful.
The officials might have spotted Youngs being pulled back early in the move, but thankfully there was no whistle and the referee allowed the move to mature and develop into a stunning score.
That it came with the game barely over a minute old in the opening home match of the season merely added to the joy of the occasion.
The perfectionists may watch the video again, trying to work out how to guarantee a score of that quality after losing your own lineout ball. You can bet the forwards have been studying it almost as many times as The Tig has reviewed the rest of the scoring move.
