Nigel Owens Has Made A Promise To Fix The One Thing That Ruins The Six Nations

Nigel Owens has vowed to cut back on the use of the TMO during the Six Nations.

The former World Rugby Referee of the Year has also urged his other fellow officials to follow suit. The Welshman has long been an advocate of reducing TMO usage, with many people in the game agreeing with him.

The overuse of the TMO at the 2015 Rugby World Cup and last year’s Six Nations was highly criticised and Owens agrees its time something was done. The TMO is an excellent tool for referee’s but when overused can destroy the flow of a game.

Owens said:

“The officials on the field make the decisions every time we possibly can.

We only go to the TMO when we really need to and there’s something humanely impossible on the field to see.

“That’s the time we really need to check something to get the decision right.

“That could be a try scored or an act of foul play which for whatever reason we haven’t managed to pick up.

“We do fall into the trap sometimes of over-relying on the TMO and that’s what the issue is.

“What we need to do as a group of referees and TMOs as one is to work harder as a group on the field to use the TMO less.

“But also then when we do use the TMO when he really need to use him to get the outcome right.

“We must work hard to use the technology less.”

Do you agree with Nigel Owens.