British & Irish Lions slam appointment of South African Marius Jonker as TMO for first Test
Robin McBryde said Marius Jonker's appointment as TMO was unexpected
©PA
The British and Irish Lions team management have slammed World Rugby for their decision to appoint South African Marius Jonker as the Television Match Official for the opening Test against the Springboks in Cape Town on Saturday.
The decision from World Rugby to appoint Jonker as TMO came after New Zealander Brendon Pickerill did not travel for the game during the coronavirus restrictions.
Jonker was the TMO for the Lions' tour game against South Africa 'A' and was criticised by Warren Gatland for not sending off Faf de Klerk despite making contact with the head of Josh Navidi. Incidentally, the Lions' only defeat of the tour came in that game.
Speaking ahead of the series opener, Lions forward coach Robin McBryde slammed the governing body for lacking a contingency plan for neutral referees when they are unavailable considering the given situation.
"It was a bit unexpected. We only found out on Wednesday. There’s a slight lack of foresight because there’s a reason why that position is neutral. There’s no plan B put in place. You’ve just got to get on with it really," McBryde said.
"We met the three officials who are officiating on the weekend. We went through everything that’s happened up to date. They were reluctant to pass any opinion on what’s happened.
"They’re aware of it and they’re confident in the comms they’ll have on the weekend that between the four of them, they’ll come to the right decision.
"The role of the TMO….his say is pretty final with regards to communication between him and the referee. It’s a very important position. I’m sure there will be no issues on the weekend.
"The impression I got really was that they wanted to move on and that they trust in their own decisions and communications and the understanding between the three of them, so hopefully that will come to the fore on the weekend."
Following the first Test on 24th July, the second and third game will also be played in Cape Town on 31st July and 7th August respectively.
