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Rugby refs need white canes and guide dogs
Michael Warren
Roar Guru
27th September, 2011
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Michael Warren
Roar Guru
27th September, 2011
11
1224 Reads
Referee Jonathan Kaplan talks to Waratahs Phil Waugh. AAP Image/NZPA/Wayne Drought

Referee Jonathan Kaplan talks to Waratahs Phil Waugh. AAP Image/NZPA/Wayne Drought

Here I go again, paranoid over referees and their variable decisions which have me asking, “Should we be issuing white canes, ‘Dirty-Dog’ sunnies and guide dogs to our whistlers?” Is this facetious and am I frustrated? You bet I am.

Referees are good blokes, who enjoy the part they play as rugby’s law-enforcers and have a deep love for the game.

They are dedicated and conscientious, train hard to be fit and knowledgeable, yet are the ones on the field who are damned for every single mistake they make; and they do make aplenty!

So where is the problem? Could it be that they are simply human?

Paddy O’Brien, IRB’s referee boss, endorsed those referees considered by the IRB to be the créme-de-la-créme of referees for the Rugby World Cup 2011.

Were they chosen on a politically correct basis or because they were, in fact, the very best irrespective?

Were there factors that said, “We must make sure that we choose the best, (suggesting that the best come only from top-ranked playing nations) and even though there are five top referees in one country we cannot pick more than two from any country for political reasons.”

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Is the choice of referees therefore simply based on political correctness, with a bit of appeasement thrown in?

During this Rugby World Cup, we have seen the extreme and bizarre of interpretations by officials on the field in virtually every game.

O’Brien laid down five areas that he insisted his referees had to observe and enforce, yet in every game, the referees have been lax and fluid in their policing of most.

These include offside, spearing, roll aways, scrums, breakdowns or crooked feeds to scrum; with far too many others to mention.

If these be the best of referees (and in fairness one must ask, “Are there any better left at home?”) then something is obviously wrong with something. as these men do not go out to deliberately cause controversy and dissatisfaction to player and fan.

It is time for rules that remove dissension to be corrected.

It is time for assistant referees to actually be assistants and not just flag-wavers.

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It is time for the electronic media (TMO and like) to become another ‘seeing eye’ to help the poor, disadvantaged bugger in the middle (who is catching all the flak) to be even more vigilant.

And it is time for the IRB to get off its proverbial ask-me and actually do something about it?

This weekend we will watch (and many of us will) a NRL Rugby League Grand Final between Manly and the New Zealand Warriors.

Because of the simplicity of rules, it is here we will see a fast, hard, free-flowing game with minimum referee interference and interpretation ruining games.

The comparison will be as glaring as a possum caught in headlights.

Rugby union needs to grow up and accept that their rules, interpretations, and referee enforcement is a colossal herpes cold-sore that is affecting the total enjoyment of this, otherwise wonderful game, we call rugby.

A massive rule-book overhaul is sorely needed to improve our game for the better. For frustrations sake, IRB needs to listen and fix the problems!

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