Can anyone throw any light onto the relationship between the TMO and the ref?
During the women's Wales v Italy match, there was an incident in which teh Wlesh tackler clearly lifted the Italian player. At one point, whilst in the air, the Italian's legs were higher than her torso, but when she landed, she didn't land torso first but more or less simultaneously.
The (female) French referee had stopped play for another breakdown and consulted the TMO regarding the tackle. She saw the replay and was going to allow play to continue with whatever it was that had caused the stoppage in the first place, but the TMO (male) persuaded her that it should be a yellow card.
The impression I gained, possibly falsely, was that the TMO was a higher ranking official and that he used that rank to influence the decision.