Still some 12 hours removed from last night’s controversy and the wounds have shown no signs of healing. Perhaps writing will prove cathartic?
It’s unlikely. As unlikely as the prospect of a Wallaby victory next Sunday in the heart of Eden Park. That will neither provide closure or comfort to what is the real emergent issue that has increasingly dominated discussion, and results, since the last World Cup.
Last night’s decision by the on-field official was a symptom of a much more complex issue that is, in this amateur writer’s opinion, a danger to the future of rugby globally. As I see it, that issue is a lack of understanding, or potentially execution, in how World Rugby administers and officiates International Test match rugby.
The highest stakes and most visible ‘product’ our game has to offer. Put simply: I think World Rugby is jeopardising the viability of Rugby at the international level.
Referee Mathieu Raynal speaks to Nic White and Bernard Foley (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Even for the inexperienced officiator I think it’s pretty clear that Rugby is an incredibly difficult game to officiate. The beauty of the game is how often there’s a contest for the ball.
At no point is a team guaranteed possession. And every attacking foray can be met with a defensive attack that could swing the tide.
There’s nothing like it. I completely appreciate the increasing difficulty of this officiating as you progress through the ranks of professional play towards the International game. High stakes. High pressure. A high degree of accuracy is required.
I’ll fall short of broadly critiquing the accuracy and quality of referring. I think that is always subjective territory that is best left to the enthusiast press (sometimes styled as sport journalists) to clickbait articles on major headlines.
Like any one with a job, everyone is going to have days where they’re clinical and days where they would like to have had a better result. Unlike most people’s jobs, the performance of an international official is highly scrutinised and highly visible.
I can’t discount the pressure of the moment that comes with the territory at this level. It would be confronting enough to draw the ire of 15 blokes fired up and ready for some brutality. Let alone to incense a crowd of 55,000. To even work under those conditions takes a strong level of focus and guts.
Where I think the critique needs to be leveled is around the more quiet and considered moments. Those points after the game where the match is reviewed by the officiating bodies.
Where they can stop to analyse what is happening in play and take a considered approach to refine what they are asking our on field and third match officials to rule on. This is where World Rugby is failing the game.
Now, in the defense of World Rugby, this is a rapidly changing world. Greater information about how rugby affects the human body impacts the duty of care that they have towards their players, both current and future.
Policing how we can protect players’ heads and discourage behaviours that would put them at risk, is a veritable minefield to navigate. I don’t begrudge them for the difficulties in finding balance around how the game adapts here. There’s clearly some friction that is going to come about modernising the rules of engagement while preserving the spirit of the game.
What I do ask is what is an acceptable level of consistency in how the game is officiated? And what World Rugby can do to bring these interpretations of the rules between officators from the various Rugby nations.
Contrast the style of calls from Ben O’Keeffe in the Wallabies last outing against the SpringBoks and compare that to the entire match of calls by Mathieu Raynal in last night’s game against the All Blacks. You could convince me I was looking at two very different sports.
Or at least the same sport from different eras.
We see a far greater consistency of calls between different officials when we look at the Super Rugby level. Or better still, when we look at the domestic competitions.
The National Provincial Championship (currently called the Bunnings Warehouse NPC) has long been a guilty Rugby pleasure of mine to enjoy.
Even without a team to support, there’s fast, powerful, skilled rugby on display from game to game. The contest is something to behold. That competition, as a product, is very enticing to watch. I seldom find myself thinking about the official or their presence within the game.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
The officiating issue seems to be exasperated in the International contests. The requirement for test matches to be officiated by an individual that does not represent a union connected to either of the two teams is the right one. The variation in how different region’s officials interpret the game means that this requirement opens a Pandora’s box of issues.
This has become more pronounced in 2022 as the role of the TMO has continued to expand, whether that is deliberate or incidental. As a viewer, it can seem that there are times there’s a tug of war between the on field official’s approach to the game and that of the TMO. That’s not the contest that people are tuning in for.
The importance of last night’s match was heightened for Wallabies fans given the amount of time it has been since they held the Bledisloe.
Reverse the roles on what happened last night. What if the Wallabies were the victors under these same circumstances and New Zealand the victims. Could that not have been the end of Ian Foster’s career?
Would Wallaby fans feel a sense of accomplishment if that decision swung the Bledisloe Cup this way? After so long an absence I can’t help but feel it would be an empty victory.
Darcy Swain of the Wallabies leaves the field after receiving a yellow card during The Rugby Championship & Bledisloe Cup match between the Australia Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks at Marvel Stadium on September 15, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
As it stands, that didn’t happen. But that is one more loss on the resume for Dave Rennie. A statistic that will not come with an asterisk when looking at the overall performance of the Wallabies through this year.
In the court of public opinion that loss will still count. The Bledisloe will still be held across the Tasman for another year. The result still stands.
In truth, this problem goes beyond one officiator’s actions in one particular game. It will come to define the contest that we head towards in 2023.
The World Cup is the centrepiece of our game. The contest by which we will attract new fans to the sport and generate a new generation of interest in play for your nation.
If World Rugby does not address the chasm of difference in interpretation and implementation of the rules then 2023 could stand as a critical opportunity missed for the growth of the game we know. This could have significant ramifications for the economic viability of International Rugby for the decades that follow.
As a fan of the game I want to see this sport flourish. I want to be lucky enough to see my children’s children take up the ball and pack it down. To experience the rush of game day, as a player or a fan. And to share in the camaraderie that comes with playing a sport so diverse as Rugby. We fans might own the game, but World Rugby has a title on the viability of its future.
CRZ38L
Roar Rookie
Agreed that World Rugby couldn't give two hoots about what the SH nations think, especially now with the order of world rankings. They've been waiting decades for a period of North vs South dominance, why would they care about what the Aussies think? "Oh, so you're the fourth (maybe third) watched code in Australia? Not our problem. Jog on now!" Unfortunately for World Rugby it may soon be. Even Sir John Kirwan is unhappy with how the game is being reffed. The first half of last Thurday's test took 51+ actual minutes for just a paltry 13 minutes of ball-in-play. That's the first issue. Second is Raynal's decision. What has this done to how World Rugby (and Raynal hiself) enforces a standard for how to deal any sort of 'time wasting' moving forward? Because for the fans watching, time-wasting is time-wasting, there's no difference between any form of it. So does World Rugby back Raynal and instruct all referees to come down hard on any form of time-wasting? Or do they seek to overhaul before the next RWC to allow more ball-in-play? One thing's for sure, they certainly won't want this type of penalty to occur during the next RWC, at any stage of the tournament.
Busted Fullback
Roar Rookie
G’day WL. Well done. Such a difficult and contentious time to write your first article, the first of many perhaps. I said elsewhere that I put the blame on WR and organisations such as SANZAR (as an example). SANZAR gets a serve for wanting the refs to concentrate on certain aspects that will make their product more attractive to a larger audience, which is not a given result. WR gets a serve for not insisting that all the Laws be adjudicated evenly and fairly, which can be achieved, even when trialling experimental Laws. Rugby is a thinking persons game, one of the many beauties. The last time big changes were made in Australia, we ended up with Rugby and the Australian Rules. What a mistake that was! :shocked: It’s a world-wide game with universal Laws. It appeals to all shapes and sizes. Let’s make sure we keep it like that.
Wallaby Legion
Roar Rookie
I appreciate all the feedback SB. I think the ABs were dudded in Thursday's game as well. It's just the ABs are usually on the positive side of the result. So the standout calls perhaps get lost in the wash for them. Had the result gone the other way I'm sure there'd be a lot more questions asked about Foley's forward pass to Kellaway for that try that started the come back. I haven't watched the replay again. But the last replay certainly painted a curious picture. For a more recent example than the 2017 lions case I thought Angus Ta'avao's red in the Ireland series this year was highway robbery. There was literally no other course of action for that player to take in that situation. He was run into more than ran into the Irish player. I appreciate that officiating is going to be a continuing evolution. And I wouldn't even say he lost the game for us. We lost the game for ourselves. 0oauees always decide the result. It's just that calls like that can spoil the contest. Perhaps greater transparency is required by World Rugby. For the protection of the officials as much as the game.
SB
Guest
Congrats on the first piece WL! And great to get that therapy out there in a constructive way. Not meaning to be too negative, but, NZ was on the receiving end in 2017! Game two handed to the lions by a penalty for ‘tackling the player in the air’ when a prop bounded into the arms of another prop while trying to catch a wayward pass, and a game three (potentially) winning penalty, magically transformed into a scrum after some French collaboration! I don’t recall to much concern ‘for the future of the game’ back then? So by all means, feel the burn and rage against the man, man! But I believe the main problem with the game these days is the outrage of those who throw around hyperbolic falsehoods and perceived conspiracy theories that mostly amount to “my team lost and I’m sad” It’s ok to hurt after a loss, and even vent a little, it’s not ok to go the full Rassie! THAT is what’s ruining our game IMHO…
cinque
Roar Rookie
A backwater or the canary? Things aren't that rosy in the North. "Show me the money!"
TiredOldGit
Roar Rookie
I think there are too many full arm penalties in rugby. I think frequent, unavoidable penalties should be counted like team fouls in basketball within consistent phases and then when certain amount are reached there is a sanction. Like no team can get on side due to the speed and the rabble of the last foot but is pinged sporadically. Drives fans mad. If the ball is still playable, play it and the full arm advantage is way too much of advantage for how frequent and unavoidable some actions are.
Wallaby Legion
Roar Rookie
Thanks for the support. It actually did help to cope with that result in the end.
Wallaby Legion
Roar Rookie
The NBA and it's consistency comes to mind when I was writing this. There are obviously a lot of factors that erase the referee's impact on that game. The weight of possession. The ease at which points are scored. Having series a best of 7 rather than a one and done affair. But those aside, there's a consistent interpretation of rules week to week. The NBAs decision around how to police contact in the game for the 21/22 season vastly improved the overall product. These are the kinds of considerations I would like to see World Rugby look at as a model to work around.
Broken Shoulder
Roar Rookie
Very good read. Thanks mate.
Wallaby Legion
Roar Rookie
I'm definitely inclined to agree. As it stands, Australia is not a large enough market to warrant pandering to help support the growth of the sport here. We have to take that upon ourselves to do. But much the same way that World Rugby has a duty to the smaller nations (like those of the Pacific Islands) to ensure a healthy variety in the sport, I think they can only benefit from a stronger Australian and NZ contingent
TiredOldGit
Roar Rookie
Aussie sport fans hate refs being too involved in sport and we don't have a history of blind pride in rugby at the same volume of countries like England. An aussie person not familiar with rugby but familiar with sport would not comprehend a game where ball in play is discouraged simply through the laws of the game and the pressure to apply them consistently. Considering the point of difference in Union compared to league is the ball is contestable at all times, the ball is only in play for 33 minutes - hardly a contest. A lot of league fans hate the bunker because it's more ref involvement. I've started watching AFL for the first time in my life and the ref can barely be seen in games. Domestic sports that have become global powerhouses have done so through entertainment, access, fan engagement and creating super stars through highlight reels. NBA, NFL, EPL etc. Rugby is 80% ref chat and "you can't sit with us" fans being proud that the rest of the world doesn't get them like a school yard contrarian. Too many things are full arm penalties in rugby. There seemed to be a penalty advantage every 5 minutes on the weekend. I don't know the stats but are the countries rugby is growing in have minimal domestic sport competitions? Australia has a lot of great domestic sport competitions that just provide better entertainment value. I have a friend that travelled to Murrayfield last year, the game where Alan Aalatoa got a yellow card for touching an ear lobe and then Thor came on and got a tour ending injury. Cost him around $3k all up to go (from London). It was a boring affair with the entertainment heavily impacted by that passage. He said he'd have to weigh up travelling for rugby as it's too much like putting all your money on red. Not every game is like that but the odds are increasingly not in your favour.
Reframe
Roar Rookie
Legend, Whilst I appreciate the article I can't help but think the levels of rugby you speak of cannot be assessed in the same way. For all intents and purposes at what level is "pure" rugby present. School? Club? NPC or international? Rugby at the highest level is a business, let's not forget that often overlooked fact. It is a professional sport involving a lot of money. So the levels of scrutiny are far greater, hence the preponderance for the perfect oversight. Depending on the level the acceptance differs, the acceptance of refereeing decisions. Sans TMO's or mindless commentary the game is played and accepted by the players. Good days and bad days abound in the refereeing world. At the highest level this acceptance is taken away by the desire to win at all costs. Hence the adjudication has devolved to forensic examination to the detriment of the spectacle of rugby, pretty simple stuff. World Rugby is a business, like it or not. Fans own the sentiment, WR owns the game. It is their direction that determines what you see on any given day. And life used to be simple.
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
@Wallaby Legion I'd be surprised if there's many Aussie or NZ fans who don't beleive rugby laws are overly complex and need a major overhaul. There are real issues in many areas imo.... But I think you're like many Aussie fans who confuse declining support for the game in Aust with popularity of the game world wide. Fact is Rugby (and Test Rugby) is booming everywhere else in the world except Australia. So the conservatives on the IRB (mostly the 4 home nations) continue to opine there's no problem with the laws cos the game is so popular worldwide. They see Australia as a backwater of little importance :stoked: