Rennie calls for clock-management debate after TMO rewinds Bledisloe Test minutes

All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has called for a formal discussion among coaches about clock management after a TMO intervention during the second Bledisloe Test exposed a significant grey area in how delayed reviews interact with the game clock.

The incident centred on a tackle by Cam Roigard on Wallabies wing Declan Meredith as he attempted to score. Roigard brought Meredith down and used his leg to hold him up, before Beauden Barrett arrived to dislodge the ball. On-field referee Luke Pearce saw no issue in real time, allowing play to continue — but the TMO intervened several minutes later to examine whether foul play had occurred.

The delay raised an awkward question: had a penalty try been awarded, should the clock have been wound back to the moment of the original incident, effectively erasing the minutes of play that followed?

Rennie acknowledged there were no easy answers but said the topic deserved attention at the next scheduled coaches’ gathering in London. “I mean these are probably discussions for a lot of coaches,” he said post-match. “We’re going to be up in London in a couple of weeks, and there’s an opportunity for everyone to discuss that. But you know, if you went back to that, unless it was a penalty try, do you take the two minutes off that we’ve just lost in the game? There’s lots of questions to be asked around that. So I haven’t got an answer for you now, but no doubt it’ll be discussed in a couple of weeks.”

In the event, Pearce ruled there was no foul play by Roigard, meaning the clock question remained hypothetical on this occasion. All Blacks captain Codie Taylor said the ruling aligned with his understanding of the laws. “My understanding was in the act of scoring, you’re allowed to play the ball, and obviously that’s the way Luke saw it,” Taylor said.

Rennie elaborated on the distinction Pearce appeared to draw. “You can’t kick the ball. So he’s deemed that Cam didn’t kick it, but he’s just still trying to defend to stop him from getting the ball down.”

While the immediate controversy was resolved without consequence, the episode has highlighted a procedural tension in the TMO system — one that could have far greater stakes in a closer match where a delayed review shifts both the scoreline and the clock.