TMO WATCH: Did Eskom get lucky?

Marco van Staden’s try against Edinburgh began with a moment of raw physical intent. From a tapped penalty, the Bulls flank charged straight into a double tackle, bouncing through contact but losing momentum as he went to ground. Showing presence of mind, he released the ball legally, gathered it again, and powered forward.

As Van Staden thundered toward the line, the Edinburgh defenders scrambled, and a mass of bodies collapsed over the chalk. The referee’s initial instinct was that the ball had been held up. Given the congestion on the line, that seemed a reasonable on field call, and he signalled as much before being surrounded by confident Bulls players urging him to take another look.

The official obliged and sent the decision upstairs. What followed was a sequence of slow motion replays, each from a slightly different angle, none offering a definitive view. With legs, arms, and torsos obscuring the ball from every camera, the replays failed to produce the clear and obvious evidence normally required to overturn an on field decision.

Despite this, the TMO took the extraordinary step of awarding the try. It is exceedingly rare for a television match official to change the original call without indisputable proof, and this instance will likely join the small handful of exceptions that spark debate about consistency and protocol in the review process.

For the Bulls, though, it was a fortunate moment that swung their way at a crucial time. On this occasion, Eskom kept the lights on for the Bulls.

Here is the incident: