what is tmo in rugby

In rugby, TMO stands for Television Match Official. The TMO is someone who watches the match action on TV screens, usually in a truck outside the ground, and uses a system called Hawk-Eye to see multiple camera angles of an incident and pass on information to the match referee via an earpiece to help him make accurate decisions. The TMO can alert the referee to something they may have missed during the game, or be called upon by the on-field official, who indicates as such. The TMO in rugby is basically restricted to two crucial areas: possible tries and possible foul play. The TMO can intervene if they see something they suspect is foul play, and the referee can ask the TMO to look at an incident either while the game continues or after stopping play. The use of the TMO system has improved over the years, and referees have been encouraged to refer fewer decisions upstairs in a bid to reduce the interruptions.