New Zealand Rugby referees boss Chris Pollock has criticised the frequent interventions by the television match official in the Springboks victory over the All Blacks at Twickenham this morning, calling them "way over the top".
In a strongly-worded private Facebook post written by Pollock and sent to 1News, Pollock said the game needed more continuity and to evolve or it would "die".
The outspoken and unprecedented criticism may raise eyebrows among Pollock's counterparts at World Rugby.
The world champion Boks won the Test by the record margin of 35-7 but it was a game marred by the near constant whistle of referee Matthew Carley. The first half alone took one hour.
Carley awarded 25 penalties in total – the All Blacks conceded 14 and had lock Scott Barrett red carded and Sam Cane yellow carded. Boks flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit was also sent to the sin bin.
All Blacks wing Will Jordan and Boks centre Canan Moodie had second-half tries scrubbed off due to marginal infractions picked up by TMO Tom Foley, who, like Carley, is an Englishman.
"Springboks have been hugely impressive in this game, however the intervention of the TMO and the bunker has been way over the top," Pollock posted.
"We need our game to have some continuity and not be so stop start. The women's football World Cup showed how fans engage in something simple and exiting – we need to evolve or we will die as a game.
"The game needs to be played/refereed on the field for 99% of the time – currently the TMO/Bunker person is the most influential person in the game."
The bunker system, which has been confirmed for the World Cup, is a review process for foul play.
Barrett's second yellow card offence – a high and reckless cleanout on hooker Malcolm Marx - was reviewed by the bunker and confirmed as a yellow rather than red card infringement, as was du Toit's high tackle on Cane.
Pollock confirmed to 1News that he wrote the post but did not want to comment further. He said it was not designed to be made public.
It will likely spark debate about the current state of the international game ahead of its showpiece in France which starts in a fortnight when the All Blacks play the hosts in Paris.
The constant stoppages did not create a good spectacle for the crowd of more than 80,000 this morning, and next month's pool games at least are likely to be overseen in a similarly overly officious way.
Four years ago in Japan, cards were frequently shown during the pool rounds before the officials took a slightly more lenient approach for the knockout matches.
Player safety is World Rugby's priority, with officials taking a strong line on contact with the head. But the constant search for knock-ons or offsides by the TMO was jarring and extended the game for far longer than it is meant to be played.
The All Blacks, always keen to play at speed, will likely believe the stop-start nature of the match helped the heavier Springbok forwards to recover and play at a more manageable pace.
After four straight victories in the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup, this was their first defeat of the year. It was also the biggest defeat in their history. The previous biggest margin of defeat was 21 points - against Australia in 2019 and 1999.
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