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When Waratah flanker Dean Mumm was blatantly offside at Newlands from a Bernard Foley kick-off, referee Mike Fraser had no option but to ping him.
I mention no option because Super Rugby referees across the board have turned a blind eye to that very facet of play, as they have to halfbacks rarely feeding the scrum straight into the tunnel.
The Mumm brain explosion was at a critical time, with the Stormers leading 14-5.
Instead of the Stormers being hemmed in their own quarter, they grabbed the opportunity to attack deep into the Waratahs’ quarter, only to be denied another try thanks to rock solid Waratah defence.
You could see why Mumm broke so early, he was just following the Sevens tactics where regaining possession from the kick-off invariably leads to a try,
It’s a bit more difficult with 15 players to deal with than just seven, but the principles are the same – it’s become a priceless asset in Sevens.
The reason why referees have turned a blind eye to breaking early from the kick-off has escaped SANZAAR, and the referee’s appointment board, even though the practice has become endemic.
So too the scrum feed where halfbacks are just as blatantly feeding under their own hooker’s feet – again endemic.
And while I’m on halfbacks, everyone of them are far too slow to feed anyway, waiting for a nod or a touch from the referee to proceed.
Effectively what the halfbacks are doing is trying a milk a penalty with both packs under extreme extra pressure at the set position, while the halfback is playing silly buggers in a waiting game.
There’s more than enough pressure in elite rugby without any unwanted additions.
And while the referee expands his attention to cover both points, keep any eye on kickers cribbing extra metres, either looking for the line, or shooting for goal.
Waratahs and Wallaby flyhalf Foley is a past master at it, subtly marking the take-off point and getting the clearance from the ref, then over-stepping the mark by some two metres going for touch, or planting his goal-kicking tee a couple of metres closer to the posts, especially on the longer penalty goal shots.
If referees give rugby footballers an inch, they will take a mile – that’s the nature of the beast.
So it’s up to the referees to police the kick-off, the scrum feed, and the take off area for penalties with no pressure on all three from the referee’s point of view.
But all three are the referee’s responsibility.
Maybe Dean Mumm has done the whistle blowers a favour.