We all know refereeing a rugby match is a taxing job. The laws of rugby are complex. Dozens of events are taking place at any given time.
A referee has to have the depth of knowledge of a High Court judge and the ability to make instant decisions with the accuracy of a sharp-shooter.
As such, we can tolerate the occasional mistake made on the run. But what is totally unacceptable is mistakes made after the use of the television match official.
The TMO effectively takes the instant decision-making out of the equation and provides the referee and the TMO official with the time and the evidence to make accurate decisions.
This is the context in which Lyndon Bray’s intervention in the controversy of three tries, two awarded against the Blues – one in the match against the Bulls and the other in the match against the Lions – and another try in the Bulls-Force match, needs to be considered.
The SANZAR referees boss made this comment about the Lions ‘try’: “Lions 13 is carrying the ball and about to score a try. Blues 13 effects a tackle and Lions 13 lose possession…”
Bray also made it clear prop Marcel van der Merwe’s try against the Blues, which gave the Bulls a crucial bonus point and secured a victory, was a “clear double movement”.
In the Bulls-Rebels match there was another clear double movement, with the body of the scorer being pushed forward a second time before the try was scored.
Anyone with knowledge of the laws (which excludes most commentators!) watching these incidents had to come to the same judgment. Yet three sets of referees and TMO officials came to different conclusions.
Bray seems to imply that by explaining mistakes have been made this makes things OK. This is as unacceptable as the actual mistakes themselves.
In the case of the Bulls’ player having the ball knocked out of his hand, the referee, Stuart Berry, went out of his way to tell the TMO (incorrectly) the ball was not knocked on but “knocked out of the hand”. Even the commentators found this comment hard to accept.
The Blues have been deprived of valuable tournament points by these officials making elementary mistakes. Nothing can be done to bring back these points. It is cold comfort for Blues coach Sir John Kirwan that his unusual (I wish it were more usual!) criticism of poor refereeing has been acknowledged.
However, another boot in this controversy needs to drop. The referees and TMO officials need to be stood down until Bray becomes sure they are competent to referee in the hardest, most competitive provincial rugby tournament in world rugby. And Bray needs to look once again at the policy of having local referees in mixed conference matches.
The integrity of Super Rugby results lies with the integrity of the refereeing process. Part of the integrity of the process is referees and TMOs must be accountable for their mistakes, not just the unfortunate team that has been punished by them.
Over to you, Lyndon Bray: justice must be done for the Blues and seen to be done.
Tony
Guest
Here here. As the Tahs versus Sharks game showed inaction (on Horne & Steyne) following by inappropriate action (Yellow for Dennis, rather than none or one for Duplessis as well) affected not only the outcome of the game, but also the spectacle.
Keith Binney
Guest
As a very young boy and an avid Rugby Union aficionado in NZ I listened intently to the shortwave radio broadcasts of the 1949 All Blacks tour of South Africa. From that time on I have been a staunch advocate of neutral referees. Thus I was extremely pleased when belatedly the IRB and later Zanzar adopted the sensible policy of neutral referees for international games. When Zanzar recently changed their policy I was dumbfounded. If anyone doubts the wisdom of this policy change they should watch a replay of the Reds-v-Lions game in South Africa this weekend. Enough said.! At the same time, I must comment on the ludicrous situation where the (Queensland) "Reds" wore white and the (South African) "Lions" wore Red . The TV commentators continually refered to the white team as the Reds which confuses even the cognizant follower - god help someone who has simply tuned into a sports game! The Simple answer - change the Reds and Blues names to an identifiable entity.
SteveL
Guest
Bray needs to act sooner rather than later. Match officiating, particularly assistant refs performance, of last night's Western Force v Chiefs game almost cost the Force a win. TD's, they are not worthy of being called Assistant Referees, missed lost forwards, forward passes and one blatant late charge visible to most in the crowd. And once again the force had a P Plater in van der Merwe allocated to the game. Having refereed for 10 years I am very aware of how much can be missed at ground level, however these guys are so called paid professionals. In any normal working environment they would have been disciplined for poor performance.
atlas
Guest
Where will the new group of refs come from? http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/9854549/Super-Rugby-referees-panel-set-for-big-revamp Super Rugby referees panel set for big revamp 21/03/2014 Super Rugby governing body SANZAR will conduct a purge of the competition's referees in the wake of a series of controversial blunders by match officials in the opening rounds of the season. Lyndon Bray, SANZAR's referees co-ordinator, said the 18-member team of referees was set for change. "Within the next week or two we will be making decisions that will keep our team extremely accountable," Bray said in comments published by The Australian newspaper on Friday. "There is a lot of pain to go for referees ... The fact is, they're either going to get dropped out of the team, which is a significant consequence obviously, or suffering from the point of view of number and quality of appointments. "It will be a strong statement in terms of those who are currently refereeing at the top of our team and those that are clearly moving in that direction and those that aren't."
Old_laurentian
Guest
If the refereeing travesty of justice which was the Lions vs Reds game doesn't provoke some changes, then this competition has become a complete joke, or (seriously) there may be some betting angle.
Bebop
Guest
Well that brumbies penalty try and general officiating proves your case. Conspiracy to keep saf teams from earning bps. Disgraceful. Someone needs to do something.
Cadfael
Guest
Tonight's games, Lions v Reds SA referee. Sharks v Bulls, Kiwi ref. Go figure. Last night, Jaco for the Tahs v Rebels game. Two of the worst referees so far this year are Jaco and Berry and they get a whistle somewhere every weekend.
Buk
Guest
Redsback I am not being a smart arse, but I didn't follow the "Hence it is Aus, England and Wales in the group as opposed to Aus, England and Wales." Was the second part meant to read Argentina, England Wales ?
Buk
Guest
Agree 100% Redsfan on both points, and I am definitely not a Blues supporter.
Loftus
Guest
Spiro, when did the Bulls play the Rebels and when did they play the Force? Can you tell us what was the score?
R.E.A.P.E.R.
Guest
Truer words have never been spoken! Its the way of the game, unfortunately...like you said, it works both ways: I'm a Sharks supporter, and I must concede that they were VERY lucky against the Lions! It must be tough being a Super Rugby ref: but I suppose that what makes Super Rugby so unpredictable...
Rambo
Guest
Does anyone know if the Lions v Reds and Bulls v Sharks match is being televised in the UK? Thanks
AndyS
Guest
I wonder what the wording will be...something along the lines of "Please confirm that any incidental contact on the ball by the tackler comprises stripping and does not constitute a knock-on"?
Rambo
Guest
I actually agree with Bray, it should not have been a try. My issue is that Bray only steps in selectively. How often do we see bad decisions, and he does nothing. He does tend to step in when it goes against kiwi teams.
David
Guest
Storm in a teacup imho. In this case I back Bray because I dont think the Blues player was trying to dislodge the ball. But I can see the 2 possible interpretations However a) I dont know why Bray is lifting his head above the parapet for this one (given the interpretations) b) Why he didnt discuss the similar situation in the Chiefs Stormers game
Matthew Skellett
Guest
After the 2011 RWC Final the french players want to know the same thing Spiro although of course this article doesn't want to talk about that does it ? I guess the Italian Six Nations players and the South Sea Island national players want to know why too don't they ?
Johnno
Guest
Rambo this is gonna get ugly now the IRB have been called. The saffas clearly wanna send a message to the kiwi's were not cheats.
Charlie Mackay
Roar Rookie
Exactly - the player either fulfils his obligations, or he doesn't.
RobC
Roar Guru
Generally speaking punishing refs is a bit like whipping slave miners or farm hands when they fell over, made a mistake or were just taking a break. The modern game of rugby is too much a single ref in the middle and couple of touchies. Something structural has to change then I think the refs can do a better job in general. Then you can have stricter and clearer consequences for errant officials. You can look at a significantly more "simple and boring" game like RL who have added officials.
Rambo
Guest
What is your take on the award of such a dubious try in the Lions v Blues match? What can you say to defend Stuart Berry’s decision? Andre Watson: I believe it was not a contentious issue from a refereeing point of view but rather from a law perspective. The knock-on law is very clear: a player needs to lose possession, with the ball then travelling in a forward direction. However, the debate with regard to this specific incident revolves around whether the ball-carrier lost the ball or whether the ball was dislodged from his grasp as a result of the action of the tackler. While SANZAR have issued a statement saying the try should not have stood, we at SARU have referred the matter to the IRB and are awaiting a ruling. The debate is currently hanging in the air as two contrasting opinions currently exist.