Quote: Andy Gilder "Said during the Four Nations that making the on-field ref have a guess before he refers it to the VR is an absolute nonsense,'"
The problem with that theory is that not every game has a video ref - so in the non-televised games in the exact same situations where the ref is 'being forced to guess' there is no video ref to back this up. This is as close to consistency that we can get whilst ever there isn't a VR at all games - the onfield Ref is in charge and makes all calls - only ever overturned by the VR where available and conclusive proof exists to disprove the Refs stance.
It puts the onus on the ref to make a call - no bottling it and going back 50 yards to check for a dodgy obstruction that they initially let play on without nailing their colours to the mast first - it makes them more accountable and will provide MI on how often an onfield Ref makes the wrong call. All good for performance management of the Refs.