In a bizarre twist, the referees at the Rugby World Cup are no longer wearing wrist watches to keep track of time in matches.
While this Rugby World Cup (RWC) has already achieved a number of firsts, like New Zealand losing their first-ever pool game, the referees are also playing their hand, so to speak.
In a bizarre twist, the referees at France 2023 are no longer wearing wrist watches to keep track of time in matches. Instead, referees are keeping track of time during matches by looking at the stadium clock and with their Television Match Official (TMO).
The reason for this, according to stuff.co.nz, is because of a disagreement between World Rugby and Swiss watchmaker Tudor. This is despite Tudor signing a seven-year contract in 2017 with World Rugby to be the official timekeeper for major events on the calendar.
While the contract is still in place, with Tudor remaining a major sponsor of the RWC, they are not obliged to provide watches for the referees. Though Tudor did just that at the 2019 RWC.
Bone of contention
And this is where the bone of contention came in. After the 2019 RWC which the Siya Kolisi-led Springboks won, one of the referees sold his watch after the tournament ended.
Though there was never any clause in the contracts telling the referees they were not allowed to sell the watches, Tudor was clearly not happy when they found out.
For this year’s edition, Tudor informed the referees they had to wear Tudor watches and not any other brand, except Garmin. Reacting to that stipulation, the referees as a group decided they would not wear any wrist watches at all for the event.
“The sponsor’s angry, and it’s a bit petty … it’s just so poor,” a source told stuff.co.nz.
“So for the first time ever in a World Cup, for the first time ever in tier-one Test matches, the official timekeepers of a game are not wearing a watch.
“It’s the biggest games in the world and the referees aren’t keeping time.”
Tudor has not yet made any official comment on the matter.
