When a rugby game is lost, the easiest targets for a team’s players, coaches, supporters and critics are usually the match officials.
A tight call may have caused one team to win and the other to lose, or the on-field referee didn’t ask the TMO the right call. Or the TMO pushes hard to influence the referee to dish out a yellow or red card.
And that’s not even looking at the assistant referees, who are supposed to man the offside lines.
Managing 30 rugby players on a pitch and handling the pressure of an expectant crowd is a thankless job, but as we all know there