I would be certain they do , or they have an idea of which way the commentary is being influenced, reason I say this is because the commentary team appear to be saying " its a certain red , he's got to go off the field " . While I am sat there thinking WTF are they watching ? This is on many occasions . Rarely do they speak common sense or seem to remember that they did far worse as players . Would be nice to see Vaughan come out and say that he agrees with the rules but they have to be applied with some sort of common sense . If you take the rules to the extreme all front row players would be red carded after every scrum as there is always contact with the head.

The referees listening to the sky commentary and being influenced by it is the most tinfoil hat wearing idea I've ever heard.

If you think this, have a word with yourself

I think the commentators can hear the video ref judging from the odd comment I've heard some make while the ref is shown "deliberating". But obviously the video ref can't be heard by the rest of us unless it's a try decision. So I don't know.

hmmm ducks and tinfoil, I’m ready for my tea

Am I right in thinking that the referee never used to be influenced by the video ref.
That's what on report was for.

Based on that, Vaughan stays on.
But also if the video ref is ruling in disciplinary issues, where's the punishment for the crusher tackle?

All I want to see is consistency, as I'm sure we all do. I don't want to be discussing the refs performance, he should be irrelevant. Unfortunately that's not the case!!

It's obvious that the commentators can hear more of the video ref's deliberations than we can, and they seek like giddy schoolkids when they get to tell us the outcome half a second before it comes on screen. No reason to believe the VRs can hear the commentary, although I suspect there are some situations where there is only one audio feed and it does happen.

One of the commentators lives near me (one of the better oned) The commentators can hear the referee and video ref but the ref and video ref can't hear the commentary.

I should think the involvement of the VR is as much about creating a job for one of the boys as it is for assisting the on field official.The involvement of Thaler for Halton's try was well over the top as we have seen on many more occasions. Why he felt no need to stick his oar in about the crusher tackle is mystifying though.

Both the Lam no try and Halton Try decisions were bizarre. Seemed to take an eternity, for what really were basic decisions. On both occaisions, both sets of players were in agreement on what the outcone would be, and setup will before Thaler reached as decision.

As for the red. I think it is a red based on the rules. But that says more about the rules than the tackle to be honest, and begs the question of why Lomax only got a yellow when he knocked O'Brien out with his shoulder last month.

Exactly and ,unfortunately, lack of consistency leads to suspicions of conspiracy. The game is being played by lads doing their best on pitch but is being ruined by incompetence from top to bottom.