Saints Wasps Sat 4.30pm

[Raggs]

Looks like Biggar has been pulled up for a dodgy clear out / cheap shot to Umaga's head. Definitely looks like a possible citing offence.

The TMO was Graham Hughes. It's seeming more and more that he's not keen on Wasps. He was the TMO who tried to tell Carley that there was nothing in the red card Carley gave to Thorley for the head on head smash. He was also then the TMO that didn't bother reviewing the most blatant deliberate eye gouge I've seen during the gloucester game on Bassett, despite the player complaining about it, and there being plenty of angles (and a stoppage around the same time). Now there was this, which looks enough to be at least a penalty/yellow.

[twitchy]

You could tell biggar had lost his rag. Surprising he wasn't carded for it.

[fivepointer]

Very surprising it wasnt even reviewed. There is clear contact to the head and would probably have justified a yellow card.

[Raggs]

Blackett has commented on Hughes' performance, so I guess he's been wound up enough over the weeks to risk the backlash for bad mouthing an official.

[16th man]

Blackett has commented on Hughes' performance, so I guess he's been wound up enough over the weeks to risk the backlash for bad mouthing an official.

There is an interesting discussion to be had about the standards that TMOs are held to and how protected they should be from (in this instance absolutely legitimate) criticism of their performance.

For a referee on the pitch, you can understand missing a split second thing like that at a ruck, as they have to check for a load of other stuff.

The TMO basically has two jobs. Review big things the ref wants to check, and pick up foul play like that, and has time and multiple angles to do so. In the instance of contact to the head, which is being stamped down on, there is absolutely no excuse for missing this and / or not calling it to the refs attention.

That its the same guy and the same team that he also failed to call up a clear eye gouge attack on raises even more questions about the role and the people filling it.

[Mellsblue]

Good to see Iyogun back invovled after his impressive stand in during our loose head injury crisis last(?) season.

He’s come on leaps and bounds in his handful of games at Bedford. How did he go during the match?

[Adam_P]

I don't think he got on for a huge amount of time from memory. Didn't do anything wrong though. Good to hear he's continuing to develop at Bedford - that relationship has been especially good in the absence of any A league or Prem Cup matches.

[Timbo]

I don't think he got on for a huge amount of time from memory. Didn't do anything wrong though. Good to hear he's continuing to develop at Bedford - that relationship has been especially good in the absence of any A league or Prem Cup matches.

He won the jackal turnover at the end. That’s all I really remember.