How many cameras does it take to spot a try?
Not enough, it seems, at the Rugby World Cup.
So global was the criticism of the video replay process over the opening weekend that World Rugby was prompted to make a statement that it was "committed" to reducing the time it took the Television Match Officials to make a decision "while not compromising on accuracy."
The TMO, in use for 14 years, was supposed to enjoy a cushy ride in this tournament with the debut of Hawk-Eye which, with the host television broadcaster ITV, was tracking play with up to 40 cameras at stadiums.
Hawk-Eye promised it could deliver video for decisions within a few seconds, but the TMOs appear to be overwhelmed with choice.
The first eight matches in the 48-match tournament were interminably delayed by the TMO seeming to dredge through every camera angle, and miss what seemed obvious to armchair viewers. The worst incidents happened at Twickenham, where the referee and TMO had to backtrack on their initial video-based decisions.
On opening night in England vs. Fiji, Fiji was lining up a conversion when referee Jaco Peyper was alerted by the crowd's reaction to replays of the try on the stadium screens showing a knock on. Peyper referred the incident back to the TMO and, after more replays, the error was confirmed.
The same thing happened the next night in France vs. Italy. France was about to kick a conversion when replays of the try on the big screens showed a knock on. Ref Craig Joubert went back to the man upstairs, Shaun Veldsman of South Africa for the second straight night, and they scratched the try.
While TV producers could be guilty of putting replays on the screens to try and influence referees, delays meant the games were longer than usual.
England-Fiji went for more than 100 minutes, more than 10 minutes over time. World Rugby said only a third of that was taken up by the TMO, but perception matters.
The TMOs fulfilled their duties in making the right decisions, as their job was invented to do, but at the cost of stalling the game. As soon as a referee began drawing rectangles in the air, there were groans in the crowds and on social media.
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt was worried continuous delays could cause injuries as players cool down, and Wales forwards coach Robyn McBride said they may have to train players differently for more breaks.
"You don't want to lose out on a decision," McBryde said. "However, and this is a matter for World Rugby, you feel a lot for the flow of the game because it becomes a lot more stop-start.
"You can definitely overdo it, and you want a referee who is strong enough to make a decision with his touch judges."
That was another reproach, that referees were using the TMO as a crutch too often, and not having the courage of their convictions to rule on what they saw, as they have done for more than a century.
Georgia coach Milton Haig suggested fans may be turned off rugby if the action was not speeded up.
The same criticism of too many stoppages in play for the TMO, and then him reviewing too many phases, were heard during global trials last year of the TMO's expanded duties.
The 2013-14 English Premiership was a guinea pig in the trial, and coaches came to loathe the TMO, when protocols were still being fine-tuned. It came to a head in last year's final, when Saracens had a try disallowed after the unsolicited intervention of the TMO, and then, unsighted by the ref, Northampton scored the winning try in extra time, which was ratified after four minutes of what appeared to be inconclusive replays.
World Rugby limits the TMO to reviewing the scoring of tries, any fouls within two phases of a try, foul play, and goalkicks. He is to be managed by the referee but, like the touch judges, he can intervene at any time.
Tonga captain Nili Latu, going against the prevailing opinion, believed the TMO should have more scope.
"The referee has 32 cameras at the venue, so I just hope they use them more often. They're there for a reason," Latu said. "I don't think we're losing anything by doing that. I don't see anything wrong in looking at forward passes and rucks and stuff. That's the way I see it."
