New Zealand Rugby is considering having a central base for all TMO decisions, admitting some have been wrong this season but that it is impossible to get every one right.
The television match official has come under fire after the final round of games in the ITM Cup over the weekend regarding some questionable decisions.
Two tries awarded to Otago in its win over Bay of Plenty at Forsyth Barr Stadium were somewhat contentious.
Otago fullback Tony Ensor showed a great bit of athleticism to dive on a ball just before it crossed the sideline in the dead ball area although there was doubt whether he had properly scored the try.
Hooker Liam Coltman scored shortly afterwards although there appeared to be no clear view of the ball touching the ground.
NZR referees high performance manager Rod Hill said the job of the television match official was not taken lightly and people were given training before they did the job.
Host referee associations were asked to nominate candidates for the position at the start of the season and those candidates were taken through testing and training to see if they were up to the mark.
It was not only about knowing the laws but also having to withstand the pressure put on when making a decision.
''The game stops and all the attention goes on the TMO. So that is what we look for in people. Can they handle all that pressure they are under being in the spotlight?'' he said.
On field, referees can ask two questions of the TMO.
They are: ''try or no try?'', or ''having seen the grounding is there any reason why a try should not be awarded?''.
The second question may relate to a previous knock-on, foul play, obstruction or other infringement.
Hill said there had been some very good decisions made in the ITM Cup by the TMOs and some game-defining ones.
''We have had a couple that have been wrong. I've been at home and watched games and wondered how he could have awarded that.''
He felt the try scored by Ensor was correctly awarded while the Coltman try was hard to see with so many players in the way.
No system was perfect, he said, involving a whole lot of players.
With so much riding on decisions, with careers for players and coaches on the line, there was much more pressure on than there used to be.
Manawatu coach Jason O'Halloran criticised the TMO system after his side's close victory over Wellington, telling the Stuff website the system needed to be overhauled with neutral TMOs.
Hill said he would not comment on O'Halloran's comments but running TMOs was not cheap, having to cover from Northland to Southland.
Neutral TMOs did not automatically guarantee correct decisions although the playoffs over the next couple of weeks would have neutral TMOs.
Hill confirmed the union is in early talks with Sky Television about creating a central base for all TMO decisions to be made.
The NRL competition in Australia is doing this next season while the NFL in the United States had begun this operation.
He could not put a time frame on when this would be introduced but hoped for it to be within the next five years.
