Super 14: Problems with authority

 
Inky Roar Rookie

By , 8 Apr 2008 Inky is a Roar Rookie

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At a point somewhere in the long distant past, I started forgiving referees no matter how bad their performances were. Even though I am constantly forced to re-evaluate this policy, I still know why I instigated it.

It was a reaction to baggings the referees were already receiving live on air from certain former All Blacks in the commentary booth, baggings which I saw as a terrible influence on the young players watching.

Why should we expect youngsters to respect authority if former All Blacks don’t?

The rulebook states clearly that the referee is the sole judge of fact. Right or wrong, therefore, he is right. Shut up and get back ten. This is the attitude we need to cultivate in our young players. The day we start mobbing the officials like soccer players, and chasing them up and down the sidelines whenever they rule against us, is the day I stop watching.

How good we can expect our referees to be, however, is a separate issue. While I still believe the correct response from players on the field is to live with the decisions without complaining, off-field debate is unavoidable.

On Saturday night we saw a horrendous refereeing performance cost the Hurricanes two competition points, and a referee (Paul Marks of Australia) who seemed to be laughing at his own joke as he sabotaged the outcome with impunity.

The search for interesting narratives in an environment sometimes bereft of them drives the media to examine such incidents very closely. Then comes the inevitable institutional backlash. You know how it goes.

It seems that those in charge of refereeing appointments get their knickers in a righteously-indignant twist whenever their underlings mess up, but they can expect more of the same until they start appointing men who can stand the pressure of volatile situations.

The officiating structure will have to change if they don’t. The replay facilities already in use will need to become compulsory for all scoring plays if power-happy officials cannot stop rushes of adrenaline clouding their judgement at crucial moments.

Some have suggested two referees, or even in-goal touch judges, while others have touted a challenge system similar to the one used in tennis and gridiron, but all these suggestions bring a whole new set of unquantifiables to the table. Stricter guidelines for use of the TMO will be the only way around the problem unless referees either become unerringly diligent or collectively somehow do the impossible and become emotionless.

The game was certainly dramatic, and for theatrical value was worth the admission price if not an R rating. Two ugly incidents provided plenty of feeling as the game smashed its way to a 13-13 stalemate. First Neemia Tialata of the Hurricanes was yellow-carded for a clumsy piece of obstruction and then Sharks replacement Epi Taione disgraced himself with a blatant head-butt and was sent off.

The mood was testy, but the fierce contest at every tackle was riveting.

Some rugby matches get tedious when played by two unimaginative sides. I saw some Heineken Cup quarterfinals over the weekend, and I swear one of the commentators had to wander down to the sideline to wake up one of the cameramen.

Not so in Super 14, typically, and this game in particular. You could have cut the air with a knife.

The referee was beginning to feel the pressure as he awarded a penalty try against the Hurricanes for collapsing a maul that hadn’t actually collapsed, and later when he failed to see the Sharks defensive line offside as a professional foul he appeared to be losing his grip on the match. But his decision in the final seconds of the match, when he failed to consult the television match official as the Hurricanes appeared to score the winning try, was beyond the merely bizarre.

Centre Conrad Smith had clearly been tackled early running in support of the ball-carrier, and with the tryline only spitting distance away a strong argument could have been made for a penalty try. It should at least have been a penalty. To make matters worse, the ball bounced off a Sharks player into the in-goal, where Thomas Waldrom dived on it for what may very well have been a try.

Instead of judging the complicated situation worthy of another look, Marks simply blew for full-time.

The crowd went septic, at which point I relaxed and couldn’t help but smile at the pictures of murderous looking fans in yellow jerseys. And with what I’m about to write, we’ll see if any of them have any sense of humour left after the constant desensitisation they suffer living and working in Helengrad.

Hurricanes supporters over the years have put themselves in the perpetually aggrieved category with constant one-eyed gripes about decisions that mysteriously go against them. They fail to see their beloved team as regular lawbreakers, a tag that much impartial evidence supports.

Two of the former All Blacks I referred to earlier, the two who bag referees most often, in fact… you guessed it, Wellingtonians.

Admittedly, this was different. Marks’ howler had clearly robbed them of what would have been an almost heroic victory, and the last-minute nature of his decision meant a (deservedly for once) hot-blooded reception from the Wellington crowd.

Often the bad decisions of referees will even out over eighty minutes, but all three of the decisions mentioned above went against the Hurricanes.

It will be a shame if those in charge of refereeing appointments have nothing to respond with by way of solving the current situation, and can only avoid unnecessary pressure by scheduling Marks for games elsewhere. So be it. This will go into the long Hurricanes lexicon of grievances anyway, and consolidate the Wellington rugby supporters’ collective position as this country’s most vehemently anti-establishment… which is ironic, considering Wellington is where the NZRU has its offices… and where Nanny State also has Her throne, from which these days She hands down Her politically correct edicts telling us all how to think.

Still, it was unfortunate that a weekend which had started so well got derailed. The Highlanders had ground out their first win of the season, a 29-20 result against the Lions of South Africa at Carisbrook. It was untidy, but Southlander Jimmy Cowan had celebrated his fiftieth game with a great performance, putting himself right back into contention this year for the All Blacks halfback jersey.

Then the Chiefs further lightened the mood with a 42-28 victory over the Brumbies in Canberra. The Chiefs inside backs showed more cohesion than they have for a couple of seasons, playing with close understanding and very few errors. First five Stephen Donald in particular had a good night, his steady hand giving Callum Bruce and Richard Kahui in the centres a good foil to run off. Being hit on the chest frequently with passes to run onto, outside backs like Mils Muliaina, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Lelia Masaga and Viliame Waqaseduadua made hay.

Once the Hurricanes result had left a sour taste in the mouth, though, things only got worse for New Zealand fans. The Blues were in Sydney straight afterwards, and the Waratahs were breathing fire. Their coach’s contract had been ungraciously and indiscreetly shortened only days before, and they were looking to make a point on the field.

Ewen McKenzie is already the Waratahs’ most successful coach in the professional era. He could, in fact, still be even if they lost all their remaining games in 2008. His trial by media was a very thinly disguised hatchet job, although the motives are still unclear. Maybe some of the NSWRU beards can’t forgive the fact that McKenzie once propped for the Brumbies, I don’t know, but the blades were unsheathed weeks ago and stayed out until the deal was done. Of the collected Australian press, only the great Spiro Zavos found space in his column to note McKenzie’s winning record… and he’s a New Zealander.

With the odd loss, and their team’s wins becoming increasingly shaky lately, Blues fans might have seen this awful 16-37 loss coming. Pride is something the Waratahs aren’t short of, and pride is a powerful motivation once dented. The Waratahs didn’t need every bounce of the ball to go their way, and they didn’t even need the high number of Blues errors. They played positively, were far more aggressive at the collision area, and looked to lay a platform before releasing their outsides. Their set pieces were precise, almost rhythmical, and their kicking was accurate.

It was pretty simple rugby, far too simple really for the Blues to fall apart in the face of as easily as they did. That’s what happens, however, when one side’s confidence is fractured and the other side finds its character through adversity.

With the Crusaders having their bye, two wins and a draw out of four matches is probably a good result for New Zealand teams. The Force were a bit lucky to beat the Bulls 15-14 in Perth, and the Cheetahs beat the Reds 29-14 in Bloemfontein.

No-one put in a performance to suggest they can foot it with the Crusaders come play-off time, that’s for sure.

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