Incredible, Rugby World Cup 2023 referees not wearing watches due to sponsor dispute

In reality the TMO or VAR control the clock now in football & rugby. Certainly makes more sense that way.

As a game that has a play on rule sometimes it's time rather than meters and a watch is easier than looking around to find a large clock.... different game... rugby league a watch not really needed rugby union yes

Rugby union is still a very free flowing game than you may think. There is interaction at stops in play but from the possession it flows pretty quick. The ref actually says more to the box than he hears from them. Playing professional for many years and a certified coach 😉

99.9% of soccer games are not played in stadiums. The refs have always been responsible for determining extra time, at their discretion. As an engineer it bothers me a little, but as I player I got used to it many decades ago. In your precise line of work, and with your appreciation of 'american football' I can understand why an 'accurate' clock is so important to you. Football is a game of seconds, especially since the clock is constantly stopped. Basketball as well. Soccer is flowing, and seconds rarely matter. And then there is baseball, where time stretches to infinity...

My comment had nothing to do with accuracy. My complaint is that only the referee is keeping track of the injury time to announce it only with a minute or so left in regulation time.

I don’t understand why there isn’t a separate injury time clock kept by the timekeeper, so the whole stadium can see.
gatorcpa

In rugby, injury time, substitution time, and TMO delays are all visible to the stadium and viewers at home. This is usually visualized as a + number alongside the standard game time (top left of your TV screen or stadium score board).

The only time that this extra time can be ignored or paused is when the referee is playing 'advantage' at half time or the end of a game.

The advantage rule in rugby is a great asset to the sport and allows referees to let play continue beyond the clock when there is a 'knock on' (the ball is knocked by a player's hand towards their own team's goal) or there's a penalty infringement.
If either of these things occur the referee can allow play to continue if the non infringing team can regain possession and continue its momentum... this can go on for quite a while and is always at the discretion of the referee.

In this case the official time fundamentally stops... and the game and timing is in the hands of the referee... this phase can continue well after the official timer has run out.

That being said the referee's use of a watch in a televised setting has become null and void and is really only used in provincial and local games where field based timers would be exorbitant.