The National Rugby League is considering using two referees and now All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen believes rugby union should as well. Hansen said an extra pair of eyes and legs on the pitch in rugby internationals would help in the fast-paced modern game.
While careful not to criticise South African referee Mark Lawrence after the All Black’s 22-3 win over Ireland on Saturday, Hansen said the contest offered further evidence that two referees might find it easier to follow play and rule at contentious areas.
“The breakdown was a bit of a mess again,” Hansen said, while claiming two legitimate tries were incorrectly ruled out.
All Blacks wing Sitiveni Sivivatu’s potential five-pointer was rubbed out by a marginal forward pass while lock Ali Williams claimed he had forced the ball amid three Irish defenders.
Lawrence was slow to arrive on the scene and subsequent video replays were inconclusive.
In rugby league, an NRL forum last week backed a proposal to introduce a second referee from next season even though the move could put it at odds with the way the sport is officiated elsewhere.
In rugby union, the All Blacks are masters at the up-tempo game and feel some referees are finding it difficult to handle the pace.
“Two referees would be good,’ Hansen said.
“I’m not blaming the referee for yesterday but the game has changed in so many ways. It’s so much faster, there’s so many more laws … yet the one thing we haven’t changed is the referee.
“He’s still doing what he’s always done.
“I think it might be time to look at saying, well, we might need two officials on the park.”
All Blacks management met International Rugby Board (IRB) referees’ boss Paddy O’Brien while they were in Dublin and had wide-ranging discussions.
“We talked about a lot of things and I think Paddy acknowledged things had to change, but it will be a slow process,” he said.
Hansen said another solution would be for the IRB to appoint a panel of 10 top referees to adjudicate all Test matches.
“The top six would do all the top nations and if you don’t go any good, you drop back down to seven, eight, nine and 10 and you get yourself better.”
He also said neutrality should not be an issue. The best referees should not be ruled out of Tests involving their own country if the match demanded a top official.
Hansen said the players’ workload put a referee’s lot into perspective.
“We’re playing 15 Tests this years, in three years guys could have 45 Tests.”
The IRB currently has 17 referees on its top level of merit.
O’Brien last week said the IRB did experience difficulty finding capable replacements for the referees who had retired since 2000.
Andre Watson, David McHugh, Peter Marshall, Scott Young, Andrew Cole, Tappe Henning, Paul Honiss, Tony Spreadbury and Joel Dume are all no longer active.
“Losing all that calibre makes it hard to replace them,” O’Brien said.
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