Let’s be clear: a single refereeing decision will never win a rugby game; In a game, there are a lot of chances to make mistakes and win the game.

However, it is absolutely unacceptable when a single refereeing decision, which may have repercussions for a number of individuals and teams, dominates a game.

In the Premiership, Saracens defeated Gloucester Rugby 19-16 on Friday night thanks to Owen Farrell’s stunning drop goal.

Despite the fact that the No. 10 should not have been on the field, it was an outstanding rugby match that was a battle of grit and determination.

because he appeared to make direct contact with Gloucester second row Jack Clement’s head in the 76th minute.

It was brought to the attention of the referee Karl Dickson by the TMO Claire Hodnett, but due to what appeared to be a miscommunication, it was not officially reviewed and was therefore discarded.

Foul play can be reviewed until the game is restarted, as required by game rules. That way, an incident can be checked between the incident, the next natural stoppage, and the restart.

Dickson misunderstood when he inquired about whether it had occurred during that “phase,” leading one to believe that he was referring to that period of play rather than the specific phase.

Later, the former referee who officiated over 100 Test matches, Nigel Owens, confirmed that a referee could go back to review an incident for as long as the game had not been restarted. The error had been made because it hadn’t.

Kicking precision masterclass 🇹🇴

Chip-kick to seal the try and the conversion to go with it! @officialTongaRU pic.twitter.com/Vri2s2W7BQ

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) January 6, 2023

After that, Dickson liked a tweet that appeared to blame the TMO. Since then, he has unliked the post.

To be fair, the tweet stated, “To be fair, I think when Karl Dickson asked, “Is it in the same phase of play?” he was inferring whether the game had restarted, and if it had, they couldn’t go back and check.” The TMO stated that she was unsure which location contained the error.

However, errors like these simply cannot occur. Even though there are consequences and the players’ safety are at stake, people make mistakes. Where does the deterrent come from if rugby doesn’t punish high tackles in real time?

A try was incorrectly disallowed earlier in the match for a minor violation. Although it took some time, the right decision was made, and that ought to be the standard for all decisions.

On Saturday, the following day, Tom Foley took his time, communicated with his colleagues, and made sure that the Newcastle-Leeds match didn’t start until he checked a possible dangerous tackle. He gave Tommy Reffell a yellow card for making physical contact with Newcastle’s Tom Penny; a thoughtful decision.

On Friday night, the referee made a mistake, and social media took notice. I’d rather referees take a few extra minutes to communicate, despite causing annoyance to the paying crowd, than dismiss them without thorough consultation in a Twitter-driven world.

The disciplinary committee of the Rugby Football Union now comes into focus. Is Farrell going to be banned and cited? Given that he was banned for high contact for seven weeks, will he somehow be able to return in time for the Six Nations? We’ll see what happens.