England coach Eddie Jones says he believes it is time for rugby union to follow other codes and introduce a second on-field referee.
Speaking in the wake of England’s controversial victory over the Springboks, Jones says he felt the on-field referee was being asked to do too much.
‘I just think the game is getting more intense. All the data shows that,’ Jones said. ‘The game went for 100 minutes on the weekend, with 39 minutes of the ball in play.
‘We are asking one referee to do it the way they did it when blokes like me were playing, jogging around the field basically. And he’s still doing the same job.
‘So I think the referees are doing a great job. At some stage in the future, probably not in my time, they may have to look at two referees on the field.’
The system is used in Australia’s National Rugby League and was temporarily adopted for the 2014 season of South Africa’s Varsity Cup.
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However, Jones added that he does not envision changes coming any time soon.
‘In the future, 15 to 20 years, probably when Bill Beaumont’s not chairman of World Rugby,’ Jones added. ‘You’ve been involved in rugby, things don’t change quickly.’
