Over the years, I’ve observed and listened to many referees, firstly as a player, and for the last 20 years as a commentator. Referees are wired, and commentators hear everything they say, including their justification for decisions made in real time.
This is the thing, of course.
The referee has to make a call instantly on what he thinks he has seen, and to a degree it is the same for opinionated commentators.
Often we’re proven to be incorrect on replays where all and sundry have the opportunity to see exactly what happened from several angles, often in slow motion.
So it’s a hard job being a referee and getting it all right.
The thing that concerns me most about referees is that they hold the power so firmly. A referee can decide the outcome of a game, and that affects players, coaches, sponsors and spectators.
It is indeed a powerful position.
When I first started commentating, I had long thought that the referees should be accountable if they had this sort of influence. At that stage, of course, to criticise a referee was just not on. It wasn’t the norm.
The game has since moved on and become very professional, and now and again, referees are held accountable by the powers that be. In my opinion, however, nowhere near as much as they should be.
There are highly qualified referees on the world stage who continually influence the result of matches that are close. These referees seem to remain in their post because, generally speaking, they are good referees and they do everything they should do politically off the field.
What also concerns me is what they do on the field.
Often, their personality influences their actions.
Bryce Lawrence is an example. Bryce doesn’t really care about rugby. Bryce cares about himself.
I see that time and again when he referees a game. On some occasions, he is very good. Perhaps it’s his mood. But on other occasions, he dominates to the detriment of the game and the spectacle for crowds and sponsors alike.
Steve Walsh? Well, he’s on a power trip and he enjoys that power position.
This is not all bad, if it doesn’t influence the game.
In my opinion, he rides with the team with possession, therefore the team in defence are scrutinised more precisely than the team with the ball. This makes it extremely difficult for the defensive team to turn over possession or to stop the attack.
What inevitably happens is that a try is scored or a penalty is given.
On the other hand, we have referees like Craig Joubert, Mark Lawrence and Jonathan Kaplan.
These three referees are all South African, which is irrelevant in my mind. But it is interesting to see the development of South African referees over the years.
I can clearly remember the days when South African referees were exceptionally parochial. At one point I played a match for Natal against one of the smaller unions in the north.
Approaching the referee at the cocktail party afterwards, I introduced myself and I said, “I’ve got no axe to grind here because I am just a visitor for the season for Natal, but I have never played in a match where the referee favoured the home team as much as I have today.”
His answer, in a heavy Afrikaans accent, was, “Murray, I have to live in this town.”
Well, we have clearly come a long way since those days, and I am delighted to see the quality of today’s South African referees. Somebody is doing a great job back there.
I’d like to add the name Vinny Munro to the three South African referees.
The four of them clearly like the game of rugby and want the game of rugby to be the victor. This type of attitude, provided they are vigilant where necessary, is fantastic for our game and the future of the game.
I bow to these referees.
On the other hand, I have no respect for referees that are pedantic about the point of the law to the detriment of what is a great team game. Power to the referees who love the game, I say.
Roar columnist and former All Black great, Murray Mexted, is the Managing Director of The International Rugby Academy (IRANZ), the leading global Rugby Academy. IRANZ offer an independent high performance pathway for coaches, players and teams worldwide. More details here.
Mex
Guest
What a great idea
Damo
Guest
I agree with both sides of this argument. MM has used flawed logic but ignoring logic is what opinions sometimes do. As critical as I am of referees (and I am critica) the essential problem is the comPlexity of the laws. When the laws are simplified we may be able to see referee performance more clearly.
Photon
Guest
With all due respect, Bryce Lawrence is a shocking rugby referee. He doesn't appear to be sure of the decisions he makes on the field? My suspicion is that this, is the biggest problem players have with him, when one of his decisions is queried he gets this flustered expression on his face which says I think I'm right, I might be right, I'm not really sure? It's just a theory but I think that Bryce doesn't like rugby, but because his dad is some sort of refereeing God in New Zealand he felt like one of the ways he could gain his approval by follwoing in his footsteps, I agree with Murray that Bryce doesn't like rugby, I would not be surprised at all if one day he admitted to hating every minute out on the field, but ultimately a jobs a job and being a pro ref is probably better than 09:00 to 17:00 it. I say again it's just my opinion and the impression I get. Contrast that with Mark Lawrence who I agree with Kingplaymaker about, in that he is a prick of note on the field. He is however confident in all his decisions and appears to love his job, his decisions may not always be right, but he is very assertive in his decisions and more importantly love him or loathe him players know exactly where they stand after 10 min of a game? I will also say ths in my opinion tha South African referees are pound for pound the best around, I am willing to bet anyone that our referees would be more successful in being a referee in Australasia than any Australasian referee would be here in South Africa, anyway I say again this is just what I think. Enjoy the rugby and the weekend?
Sledgeandhammer
Guest
How did Allain Joubert miss out?
stuff happens
Guest
Steve Walsh!? Brett,in last weeks Bulls /Blues match there were 31 penalties! As we both know there are 80 mins in a game so basically for those who pay to turn up the game is ruined.Who wants to watch any game dominated by penalties?( except Spiro apparently, for whom penalties are part of the' DNA of the game.') In the Brumbies /Cheetahs game there were 24 penalties. Rugby will struggle to develop unless the absurdly complex laws are not overhauled.This is why referees have the power to influence the game.
DingoBob
Guest
I would like to see a more transparent process for the assessment of referees. I think they need to adopt the open assessment of referees along the lines of the National Rugby League instead of perpetuating the protectionism that seems to surround some favoured whislte blowers.
Snobby Deans
Guest
Ash - is it difficult walking with that chip on your shoulder? Should you mention other games where blatant referring has cost a team a game - like the NZ/FRA QF in '07? Or does it not suit your biased view to balance out that one particular game? As WQ saudm get a grip! Move on, the game's gone
Daz
Guest
Here's an idea. Instead of poaching league players we should poach league refs and send the bad union ones to referee league. Tell them they'll have a far bigger stage to star on there. They'll soon kill that game with their meticulous, stop start displays of refereeing erudition. Then we'll have our pick of the best league players as they switch to union and they'll bring a ton of supporters with them too. Then bring on the kiwis.
Atawhai Drive
Roar Guru
Yes, Stillmissit, I certainly am saying that any opinion contribution should stand the test of evidence. Well-informed opinions are one thing: opinions based on ignorance, prejudice and amateur psychoanalysis are usually worthless. The line between fact and opinion is or should be quite clear. If I say that Tom Carter plays for the Waratahs, that’s a fact. If I say Tom Carter is the Waratahs’ misunderstood midfield genius, that’s an opinion which I then need to support with evidence. One of the main reasons I like The Roar is that some of its contributors draw interesting conclusions from established facts. Other intriguing opinions are derived from hitherto unknown (at least to me) facts. And some Roar contributors largely eschew their own opinions while presenting fresh facts. On The Roar, for example, it’s possible for someone like me to be informed about the technicalities of front-row play in rugby, or the subtleties of formation play in football. But vague and unsupported statements such as “Bryce [Lawrence] doesn’t really care about rugby. Bryce only cares about himself” are neither interesting nor informative. Such a sweeping statement might contain a kernel of truth. But where’s the evidence? As that renowned expert, Inspector Harry Callahan, said in The Dead Pool, “Opinions are like a..holes . . . everybody’s got one”. Quite so. But some are more valid than others.
bennalong
Guest
Bravo Murray ! A commentator with the balls to raise this issue There is some sort of rule left over from "the ol' days" that you don't criticise the Ref if you're a commentator. There is also the worry about the effect on the game lest the fans have doubts in their minds about the legitimacy of the game. But wake up folks. This is the professional era! AND HAVE YOU NOTICED WHAT YOU CAN BET ON? Refs must be paid well BECAUSE they must be scrutinised to ensure they"re not bribed by criminals! Or do you who don't want ref criticism think it's only soccer where the fixes happen! And Murray, say it like it is...............Bryce Lawrence is a disgrace. Even a patriotic Kiwi like yourself can see it!
stillmissit
Roar Guru
Paul Cully: I forgot about Lyndon Bray he was a good ref in his day and always struck me as a guy who enjoyed the game. Where did you pick up his comments on refs? I haven't read that. There have been a couple of players who turned to reffing we had an ex senior prop reffing in Australia a few years ago and he was good. Can't remember his name but nothing unusual, I can't even remember what day it is.
stillmatic1
Guest
and a bucketload of infringements by the french also!! so kind of evens out doesnt it, ying and yang and all that stuff. Ash just seems to have a natural bias against the Abs and so his opinions are clouded as such. show me an infringement by the Abs that joubert didnt penalise and I'll show you one by the french that he also didnt penalise.
Bakkies
Guest
I thought Lawrence did a good job in the Aus v Ireland game and I am Australian. He penalised the weaker Aussie scrum which was getting torn a new hole. Ireland could have won by more had Murray been given his try and Bowe finished off his intercept. The Wallabies lost because the scrum was appalling, Nau couldn't hit a barn door, dominated at the breakdown and Cooper overplayed his hand butchering simple pass and draws to get a try by throwing hail marys in to touch.
Bakkies
Guest
Joubert has jumped on riding the ABs bandwagon. The sooner Paddy O'Brien goes the better. He is clearly incapable of being impartial which is part of his job (eg the comments after the Italy v NZ match). Lawrence wasn't even on the RWC panel and Paddy's mate Kaplan was. Kaplan has cost teams several matches over the past few years with joke decisions. The Rebels getting a soft penalty after Maafu shove a Rebels prop at scrum time which led to Cipriani kicking the winning penalty against the Brumbies, the Irish-Wales AR farce which led to him being ''rested'' are highlights. Had Rolland been given the NZ-France RWC Final I say he would have penalised the ABs off the park which Paddy O'Brien would have hated to see. I would like to see Lawrence, Alan Lewis, Chris White or Joel Jutge to be put up for the job.
mace 22
Guest
I don't usually care about the ref to busy watching the actual play, but mark lawrence would be the best ref I've seen. Not because of if his decision is right or wrong. But how he explains to the player OR team how he got to his decision.
Sircoolalot
Guest
But it is a fact that Joubert missed a bucket load of infringements by NZ
Paul Cully
Expert
I usually avoid the referee debate, given that it is a complex game and coaches teach players how to push the limits of legality, but this was an excellent piece. The point about referees wielding their power unnecessarily is particularly troubling. Progress is slow, but I do think that Lyndon Bray is being more openly critical of mistakes than in the past - this week alone he identified an error made by Walsh at the end of the Bulls-Blues game and had a query about the scrum penalty that cost the Cheetahs the game. I hope this continues. I also hope we see more of Glen Jackson - in many ways he could blaze a trail for guys who have played top-level rugby picking up a whistle. If he brings in a more nuanced, savvy style of officiating everyone would applaud it.
Drop kick
Guest
"character FLOORS" that is base accusation
Darwin stubby
Guest
While the ref holds the power of the game in his hands just as importantly (and often far more damaging) the commentator and his various 'expert' sidekicks have the power of skewing public opinion - I've often blogged on here a large chunk of the vapid comments on here after a test / SR game is down to the poor knowledge and one eyed bias of the foxsports cheerleaders - their commentary inflames ... As does poor analysis from sites such as G&G that then gets picked up and highlighted by the likes of Dwyer - substandard analysis underlined by poor journalism ... Mexted himself has a tendancy to fly off with wildly incorrect analysis as doesthe SA boys - its not just an Aust problem .... But as Mexted comments we now live in an age where the commentary promotes the rant ... Sure Lawrence maybe a really poor ref - but how poor would the perception be if every 2 bit comments man wasn't highlighting their pet peeve - which more often than not is wrong ... Cut them some slack and they certainly don't derserve to labelled as not caring for the game
Tui
Guest
Haha Oh here we go again yes AB's only won the world cup because of Joubert, never mind that the french never looked like scoring a try except from Piri's gift. Good to see a team that only plays for penalties loose. Think Joubert and Mark Lawrence are the two best in the world by some distance.