Wallabies great's shock confession as rugby continues to kill itself
If this next statement doesn't make the suits at World Rugby look up from their post-dinner tiramisu and vintage port and take note, then nothing will.
"I’ve got a confession to make. I very rarely watch a game live anymore because of the impact the TMO is having on the sport.
"That is the honest to God truth. I hate the stoppages. I watch rugby league games live because there’s so much more ball in play and there are fewer stoppages and it’s just a nice free-flowing game from that perspective.
"From an entertainment perspective and the product itself, I honestly feel like (the TMO) is killing the game."
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These aren't the words from some random gibberer with a play-on-words moniker giving some rugby Facebook page the benefit of his wisdom at two in the morning.
They flowed from the keyboard of former Wallabies halfback Will Genia in a column for the Roar website.
You'd have to think Genia knows a thing or two about the game after feeding the Aussie scrum over 10 years and 110 Tests.
He is not a lone voice in condemning the over-officiating of rugby, and certainly not the only former Wallaby turning to the NRL for greater entertainment.
Rugby's TMO system panned amid Will Genia criticism
Fans have been banging on the stop-start nature of the game for years, brought about by incessant interference from the video ref.
It's got to the stage where many are now brushing the live contest and waiting for Stan to drop its mini matches an hour or so after fulltime, cutting out 73 minutes of rubbish and letting you take in the seven minutes worth watching.
It's probably still a few minutes too long, but this way you not only avoid SBW's 'brahs', you can watch the game in the time it takes to cook a fried egg.
No need to waste two hours of your life raging at a screen in frustration as the TMO takes us back to rule on some innocuous technicality breached in 1947.
The good news is World Rugby still has time to put things right before next year's World Cup becomes a comedy fringe festival.
WR needs to restrict the TMO's powers to ruling on dubious tries and violent conduct - if called on – and let the on-field officials handle everything else (with a quiet word in their ear not to pull up every minor indiscretion).
They won’t always get it right but at least there's half a chance a decent game of rugby might break out instead of the stodge currently being dished up.
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