Splashing About

No one drowned this week, but it was a close thing. Plenty of games have been called off because of the water logged pitches in recent weeks. Indeed the venue for this match was swapped with the opposition, playing rugby in the mud is slowly being phased out. Despite the change of ground, the playing surface included three distinct puddles, the largest about 2-3m across! I warned the captains that I would blow quickly unless the pile ups happened in the shallow end!

The matched ended up as a great and good humoured tussle, the visitors (though technically the home side because of the ground switch) got the better of the first half, the first try was well worked with the player tackled on the line. The player landed with his back to me, though I was positioned slightly in front of him. I couldn’t see the ball, but judged it to be on or just over, it was only when he rolled over to get up, that I realised the ball was probably just short.  I wasn’t going to reverse it and even with a TMO I wouldn’t have gone upstairs. There was surprisingly little complaint from the home side which was surprising given my previous experience with that team. Half time ended 15-3 to the visitors.

As the second half got underway, it be came apparent that the the home side were tightening up their game, they had a significant forward advantage and there two second half tries came from push over tries. Given the current discussion at the top of the game, these was well executed and the opposition took the pressure and didn’t drop it, stand up or disintegrate. Scrummaging under the current laws is possible if the players want to play to them.

The second try came after the yellow card was brandished for killing the ball 3m out under the posts. The ruck was a big pile of bodies but the purple arm across the ball was clear to see. If you are going to commit an offence in that position, don’t wear fancy matching under-vests.

With the game balanced at 15-all the home side where again camped on the visitors line, the ruck developed into a pile of bodies. The purple player at the back was on the wrong side, but couldn’t escape. It was going to be an attacking scrum until the scrum-half decided to intervene, 2-3 stamps onto the side ribs of the prostrate player. No question of a yellow, but a real question of whether it was red. Once again it had been a good natured game I warned the player that they might not be so lucky with another referee and in the end I didn’t fancy the paper-work.

Great feed-back from the players and score that was a fair result for what the two sides brought to the game.

Lack of Action

I haven’t been that active on here of late and that is largely due to lack of games to talk about. I went to some Autumn internationals, I was ill, Christmas came along and then we have had the frost. However, last week, some idiot forgot to tell me and Society that my game was canceled until 9.30 on the Saturday morning. This meant it was too late to get a reappointment. That isn’t as bad as couple of weeks before went I turned up at my home ground to find the game had been canceled. Its only phone call – please make it.
The previous week was an uplifting match. On paper it should be evenly balanced, a Jonap 1 merit fixture, but the home side had better organised forwards and the visitors weren’t up for tackling. It ended 73-7 but strangely it felt closer.
The only trouble came from a loose head, whose technique was to drive straight up and binding seemed to be optional. Two free kicks and two penalties and he was close to getting a yellow card before he was subbed as the scrum went uncontested. His excuse for the binding was an injury that prevented him getting his elbow up, ‘fit enough to play then fit enough to bind properly’ was my response.
I was impressed with the visitors since despite the thumping they received, there was no griping or back chat. I’m either getting better or they are particularly well behaved – shows it can be done.
No game for me this weekend as it the only game that counts all season; Wales v England.

Sunny, South West London

The rugby season is now in full swing so, what feels like the sunniest Saturday of the year bakes the turf of Motspur Park. This was another Level 11 game and one that amounts to local derby. The referee training from Thursday night was fresh in my mind so focus on the front rows and closing off at the tackle were to be my points of focus in improving my game.
As it turned out the scrums were generally well behaved and proceeded well compared to last week. The home side lacked the of bulk of the visitors but as with the rest of there game, were better organised. They typically managed to step over the ball as it was put in, though it did catch them for a crooked feed once. Two scrumage incidents stood out; KCS had an attaching scrum on the 5m line, there was a tremendous shove as the ball went in and the defending tight –head stood up, the shove looked straight so I awarded the penalty to KCS which they took quickly and scored under the post. Wimbledon protested they had called a man down; nobody looked hurt as the scrum broke up so I was happy not to stop KCS using the advantage. It turns out it wasn’t a front-row and was merely a knock on the leg. It hardly warranted a stoppage so it was a good call; Wimbledon needed to react to the whistle better.
ELVs came into play in the second incident, a strike against the head saw the KCS back line needing to rearrange defensively, they rushed up and took a stand on the old, back-foot line and it was obvious to spot. Strangely, ten minutes later, the strike went the other way and Wimbledon conceeded the same penalty. ELVs played a part in the second try as KCS scored in the corner, the corner flag was clearly taken out as the ball was grounded, and against short lived protests, the try was good.
The tackle area was particularly scrappy, with KCS frequently handling and Wimbledon going off their feet. One incident saw the visitors turned over in the tackle, Wimbledon had no players in the game at the ruck to complete when KCS stepped over and picked up the ball. There was no penalty as there was no contest, KCS had won the ruck and by picking up they were being positive in getting the ball going forward. In making any discussion, referees should always look to reward positive play. I am not convinced Wimbledon saw it that way.
Sadly, there was no de-briefing with the visitors, post match, so I will have to wait for the card to come back. The home side gave me some good comments but at 34-0, they were bound to be pleased. From my own point of view, I was happy with my response to the high level of chat which diminished with action and I felt more confident that I was dealing with the scrum decisively. However, it was a bad afternoon for positioning, with three scrums as the ball carrier ran into me or being on the receiving end of a clearance kick – ouch!