The review bunker and shot clock for goal-kicks will feature at the upcoming World Cup in France, World Rugby has announced.
Both systems, designed to speed up the flow of the game, have been recently trialed in several other competitions, including the Rugby Championship and the ongoing World Cup warm-ups in Europe.
World Rugby on Monday said the systems would now feature across all 48 Tests at France 2023, operating out of the International Broadcast Centre in Paris.
The bunker’s function is to aid a referee, whom officials insist will remain “the lead decision-maker, uncertain over whether an act of foul play is so serious a player should be sent off.
If the officiating team is unable to determine whether an incident warrants a red card, but is worthy of at least a yellow, the referee will signal for a review and the player will leave the field for 10 minutes, as if he had been sin-binned.
The bunker official will then have up to eight minutes to review the incident using all footage produced by the independent host broadcaster (World Rugby) and various other technological aids, before deciding whether to uphold the yellow card or rule a player should see red and so remain off the field without being replaced.
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All decisions will be communicated via the big screen in stadia and via broadcast graphics.
It was under the bunker procedure that England captain Owen Farrell was sent off against Wales in a clash at Twickenham less than two weeks ago.
Farrell, initially sin-binned, was given a red card on review for a high shoulder-led challenge on Wales’ Taine Basham during England’s 19-17 win.
But there was uproar across the sport worldwide when a subsequent disciplinary panel downgraded the red card to yellow.
The panel said the bunker had not had the benefit of hearing from Farrell or his lawyer, leaving many to question how the new system could continue to operate effectively if his case set a precedent.
World Rugby has since appealed against the panel’s verdict and a new hearing will take place on Tuesday.
The shot clock shows players the 90 seconds, already set in rugby’s rulebook, they have to take a conversion and 60 seconds to kick a penalty with the time counting down on screen.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Paul Ellis/AFP