Number of referees in ‘TMO bunker’ doubled after England controversy

World Rugby are doubling the number of officials in the TV “bunker” to decide red cards at the World Cup from one to two in a significant change to the new system of reviewing foul play.

Current Test referees including England’s Christophe Ridley and Craig Evans of Wales will act as a second pair of eyes to help the new foul-play review official (FPRO) reach the correct decision in the flashpoint incidents.

The bunker has been on trial in the current series of World Cup warm-up matches, and immediately in the news as both the red cards given to England’s Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola were decided by a single FPRO in a TV booth, instead of by the on-field referee who used to make a ruling in conjunction with a television match official (TMO).

On Monday, World Rugby announced the bunker would be used for all 48 matches in the World Cup itself, and be centralised at the International Broadcast Centre at Roland Garros in Paris, instead of at stadiums.

But i can reveal another alteration, which is to place a second person – either an assistant referee from the seven who are officiating at the World Cup, or a TMO – alongside the FPRO to adjudicate on possible red cards.

The FPRO, colloquially known as “Bunker One”, will retain the casting vote.

Discussion was given to having a recent ex-player trained in the laws in the bunker, but time was against it.

Farrell’s red card against Wales on 12 August became the subject of fierce debate when a judicial committee of three Australians rescinded it – in direct contradiction of the FPRO in the bunker, Marius van der Westhuizen, who had decided the England captain’s challenge with a tucked arm was “always illegal”.

i understands Adam Casselden SC, who chaired that judicial committee, will keep his place among the 10 judicial chairs for the World Cup.

It has also emerged that currently all foul play involving contact to the head that meets a yellow-card threshold is being thrown to the bunker – even if it is an obvious red card such as a player running in to punch an opponent.

So while some observers believed the referee Paul Williams should have given a straight red to Vunipola for the collision between his shoulder and Ireland prop Andrew Porter last Saturday, Williams had no choice.

World Rugby need to decide whether to maintain that approach for the World Cup.

The bunker itself was ushered forward after a workshop in Esher near London straight after the Six Nations in March, attended by the 20 World Cup head coaches and all the referees.

The fresh case of Jaco Peyper sending off England’s Freddie Steward in Dublin, which was later downgraded to a yellow card by a disciplinary panel, helped sway the move to give the FPRO eight minutes to look at every replay angle, with split-screen and zoom options, while the referee gets on with the match.

There was initial discomfort among referees at giving away an element of control and of the authority they have built over a career and the duration of a match.

But it is being seen as worth it to give the “team of four” officials (referee, assistant referees and TMO) at the stadium a better chance to move through the match, unaffected by a red-card decision.

The FPRO is a different person to the TMO who is still looking at acts of try-scoring and forward passes and so on.