Tales and Flags

No game to referee this week as I was undertaking a Touch Judge development course. There is bit more to it that simply raising a flag roughly where the ball goes out. There is good deal about positioning, especially as play nears the goal line. Then there is the need to be the eyes in the back of the referee’s head, spotting trouble and communicating this to him, especially if both of you are wired up and linked to the TV. The secret code used to describe foul play is revealed. If the TJ describes the illegal action as ‘unnecessary’ then he is recommending a caution, ‘reckless’ means a yellow card and ‘dangerous’ warrants a red card.
Our tutor, Old Uncle Bob, is a former top, national referee and it is clear that from the video clips used, he favours swift justice for miscreants, recommending red cards far more quickly than any of the class.
Old Uncle Bob is well stocked with tales from his years with a whistle, two favourites from yesterday included the English international referee (not current) who’s pre-match routine included a couple of G&T’s before he took the field. Sounds more fun than Gatorade. Another English international referee arrived for France v Scotland with only a white shirt, forgetting the French change of strip. His only other top was a red training shirt, ripped at the side. With the aid of some safety pins he took to the field and the game passed without incident. However, his assessor did criticise him for not raising his arm high enough.
Spectator violence is something at has hit the news lately, but one of my classmates recounted a recent London New Zealand v Hammersmith match were a floored Kiwi was receiving a pasting from his opposite number. The swiftest retribution was delivered by the victim’s 5 foot girlfriend who matched on the field to deck the assailant with a decisive right hook! Classy bird!

An ugly day for Rugby

Forget the summer of Bloodgate, cocaine, gouging and late night 'fights' in Wellington this is story from Coventry is the biggest disgrace of the season

played by humans, refereed by humans
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Cheats vs Druggies

My visit to the Stoop was my first Premiership match, playing on Saturdays generally precludes this and my team is London Welsh anyway. There was lots of razzmatazz and my location in a hospitality box gave a great view of the action. It was a cracking match and never let it be said that games with one try a piece lack drama.
Wayne Barnes in the middle gave a consummate performance, though rucks still managed to have a few too many players off their feet from my angle. The winning Quins try was tough one to call even with a TMO but thanks to Sky TV HD cameras the right decision was made. Ironically, it was the same high definition coverage that provided evidence for Bloodgate!

Note. There was more interest in these visitors to the box than the Quins players at full time. I can't help thinging they are going to be cold come January.

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Double Dose

With a game to referee and trip to Harlequins v Bath, Saturday was a feast of rugby action. Luckily my game was local so a mad dash to the Stoop was just do-able.
The afternoon started with a stomach-in-mouth moment as I realised that letting toddler-son play with my whistle after the last match meant it hadn’t found its way back in my kit bag. The advice of keeping a (rusty) spare prevented any embarrassment.
The combatants were two well organised Old Boys sides and happily were a side higher than I had previously encountered from those clubs.
The home side, Blue started strongly setting up a Red line-out on their own 5m line. Red 8 left the line early and I awarded a free-kick, an ensuing ruck saw Red 8 go to ground and tap penalty saw Blue score neatly in the corner. However, once Red got their act together the tight play from their forwards was too disciplined for Blue to cope with, there was great running and handling from the Red backs, some neat behind the back flips. In contrast, on the many occasions that Blue pushed forward, the ball carrier was isolated and was turned over or conceded a penalty.
Comedy moment of the match came a Blue 15 was chasing down a kick that ran into touch, realising that he was heading for the half way flag he attempted to vault the flag, which raised a sensitive target for the top of the flag to whip into. The ensuing line out was delayed as the forwards and referee composed themselves.
The game ended with a healthy 38-18 win to the visitors thanks to better organisation and individual skills. From my perspective, no major flare-ups, though it seems I did miss an obstruction in the lead up to a try. I was well positioned but wasn’t looking at that aspect, I suspect they were right to question it; at least it didn’t affect the result. I came off feeling the afternoon had gone well and the feed back from the teams seems good too. Sadly no beers with the captains afterwards as I needed to run off to the Harlequins match.

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One Yellow and Penalty Try

The #rugby season has started quietly down at Level 11. Only two games so far and another week off duty to come.
The first week was a local match, I even cycled to the ground and it involved a side I’d encountered a couple of times before; the oppo where new to me. I gave a good long briefing to both teams about the summer law changes and new directives. Naturally, most of this was news to the players except the maul law. In retrospect, the subtleties of hands in at the tackle were lost and I think it left them with the impression that hands were fair game from everyone. It did prove useful as at least one turn-over came from the legitimate use of the new ruling. Well, I think it did!
Both teams were evenly balanced, though the loss of a prop and the subsequent 2/3 of the game played uncontested probably cost them the win. Neither team seemed to control rucks well, which made them messy but competitive. I played rucks loosely which allowed a bit of niggle to develop, but this didn’t spill over, despite the home team’s combative Saffa No8. A word of warning to players if you have a distinctive accent; keep your thoughts to yourself, otherwise it makes it easy for the referee to pick you out and penalise you directly.
One of my season’s targets is to get a better grip of discipline and it was an early yellow card for the defender on the floor, 10m out, kicking the ball back as the scrummy was about to pick up. Black scored a crucial try from the resulting penalty
Final score was 22-22, my first draw, four tries from each team but some tricky kicks to convert.
My second match was supposed to be a third team game in south London, but the club had bumped the referees up a match as they had botched their referee appoints (very naughty boys). The home side just managed to scratch together 15 with a couple of subs, were as the visitors had 8-10 subs which the home side foolishly, it turns out, allowed them utilise. There was some good early pressure from the home pack, but the oppo had a wonderfully skilful and youthful back three who twice capitalised on some half chances to score. It was a marvellous chip and chase game that the home side could not counter. The home side converted some pressure into a score as chip through was knocked on by the defending full-back, not attempt to catch, 5m out, penalty try. I ran play through another phase to see if they could get a proper score but it wasn’t coming.
The scrums were tricky all afternoon as both front row wanted to mess about, as ever a tough one to decide who is up to what, there were a couple of obvious free kicks and penalties but an awful lot of resets.
Eventually the youth and fresh legs made a difference and the score began to flatter the visitors in what had been real contest. Final score 17-45.

Watch Your Tackle

Ahead of my second match of the season, the Referee Society brought out JP Doyle to talk us through refereeing the tackle at last night’s meeting. It is a huge benefit having Premiership referees in the Society to aid our development. He got us thinking about what type of tackle we were watching, offensive, gang, isolated, etc and how this might change our priorities for what subsequent offensives might occur. Is it likely to be a tackler not moving or a ball carrier not releasing?
His focus is clearly to avoid giving a penalty, the early whistle and a scrum being the preferred option. In judging if it should be a penalty, he clearly looks for the crime to be clear and obvious, something that will change depending on the observer’s reference point, particularly between player and referee. Next up, he looks to see if the play is positive, the tackler may be on the wrong side, but is making an effort to move away or is he prevented from rolling away?
Finally, the referee should use his judgement as to what is ‘fair’, is a player or side being rewarded for good, positive player and is the outcome equitable? This final point places the referee as an arbitrator (what the French call the man with a whistle) rather the enforcer as seen but the Anglo-Saxon world.
All good points to take into the weekend and I will try and watch some of JP’s game between Wasps and Worcester to see how he implements this approach.

New Rugby Season Beckons

My kit is washed and my boots are buffed. The big boys have had a few friendlies, but the Premiership action starts this weekend and so will the action down in the lower reaches. I haven’t been assigned a game yet, but hopefully some last minute call will come on Friday evening.

Personal targets for this season are to get more games than last year. Fitness is up (though you wouldn’t tell from looking at me) and I am unlikely to suffer another catastrophic injury (touch wood). That said, getting my weight down and speed up would enhance my performance.

I was prompted at the end of last season and with a decent run of quality games getting to Level 10 at Christmas is achievable. It will rely on getting those assessment cards back to the bunker. I also want to get Assistant Referee qualified; it’s a way of getting involved in higher level games without the fitness or development issues that come with being 41.

There is going to be a tough learning curve for both players and referees with the new breakdown and obstruction/maul directives, so getting on top of those early and making it look like I’m in control are crucial. The last point goes for the whole game, never let it look like you’re unsure. Players are like wild animals, they can sense when you’re afraid and will use it their advantage.

Most importantly, I’ve got to carry on enjoying it.