Video ref for England's Autumn internationals
London
September 14, 2000

A video referee will be used for the first time in English rugby union during England's internationals in November.

After meetings between the Rugby Football Union (RFU), England management and satellite broadcasters Sky Sports, a Television Match Official (TMO) will be seen first on November 18 for the opening international of the season against Australia at Twickenham.

The TMO will not make final decisions themselves -- just supply advice to the match referee.

Nick Bunting, RFU referee development officer, said on Thursday: ``We will appoint a neutral official who will examine replays of incidents supplied by Sky once they are given the 'time out' and 'squad box' signals by the referee.

``We expect the TMO to be a current or immediately past international referee. The referee on the pitch will make the final decision after receiving advice from the TMO before play continues.''

England coach Clive Woodward said the TMO would help make decisions which could have ``a direct bearing on the outcome of the match.''

``I hope this experiment will prove to be a success.''

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