Quote ="Roy Haggerty"As a ref, I think this is completely unnecessary. There are already three officials, which is plenty of eyes to see everything on the pitch. The problem we have is that we simply do not use the touch judges effectively, despite them being wired for communication with the ref.
In my view, it is a simple case of having the ref going back the ten with the furthest TJ from the PTB, and the nearest TJ to the PTB staying level with it to watch for infringements. This allows the referee to effectively police offside, and the ruck is then monitored by the TJ. If the TJ calls foul, then the ref automatically awards it irrespective of whether he saw it or not.
Alternatively, have both TJs retreating 10 meters to mark the line, allowing the ref to stay close to the ruck and police that. If the line moves up too fast, the TJs give the call to the ref who automatically awards a penalty.
Basically, I don't understand why we would need to bring in a second referee to perform a role which could already be performed by one of the two TJs.'"
The touch judges should police the defensive line while the referee polices the ruck.
