VAR vs TMO – What are the main differences between football and rugby union?

Given the fast-moving chaos of 30 players in close proximity to the ball and limited sightlines, it was perhaps inevitable that rugby would be an early adopter.

Initially, television match referees were only used to assist with marginal calls on whether a try had been scored. England fans will remember and rue Mark Cueto’s disallowed try in the 2007 Rugby World Cup final against South Africa.

However, its powers expanded to include incidents of foul play, and with the game’s authorities leading the crackdown on high tackles, conversations between officials on the pitch and those sitting in front of the screen became longer and more frequent.

World Rugby has tried to rein in the trial by television of each score, by instructing officials to only review events in the final two segments of play before attempting, rather than holding back further.

Limiting this creepiness and keeping the game flowing, while prioritizing player safety, is the balance the game tries to strike.

The ‘bunker’ system – where an incident that meets the yellow card threshold can be upgraded to a red card after a video review while the offender is sitting in the sin bin – was introduced in 2023 and has generally been a success.

The system is not perfect. South Africa’s win over Ireland last autumn took more than two hours after five yellow cards were dissected and shown via video review.

But the game is still faster and cleaner than it was before the introduction of video administrators. The transparent nature of decisions – with discussions between officials broadcast live – is a definite advantage for football.