Ex Keo
Former Springbok hooker JOHN ALLAN says rugby officials need to improve and remember that rugby is a contact sport.
Enough is enough. I have had it with referees and the way people mollycoddle New Zealand, especially when it comes to taking them to task for bordering on 'cheating' as opposed to being 'streetwise'.
I watched in dismay on Saturday when Bismarck du Plessis was handed two yellow cards, and then a red. He couldn't believe it and neither could the rest of the rugby-playing world who still think rugby should be hard and physical. Dr Danie Craven, the architect of South African rugby, and the legendary commentator Bill McLaren must be turning in their graves.
Du Plessis's tackle on Dan Carter – a world-class flyhalf who has the ability to win games on his own – was completely legitimate. Unlike Ma'a Nonu's hit on Jean de Villiers late in the second half, Du Plessis used his arms and hit Carter chest-high, not neck-high.
While some would argue that using your forearm when going into a tackle is dangerous, as Du Plessis did early in the second half, I disagree. To me it is perfectly legal and most international rugby players use the same technique when going into a tackle. In fact, most forward coaches drill it into their players, and when you practise with rugby shields you instinctively use your forearm.
It looked worse than it was when played in slow motion on TV (and on the big screen at the ground), but if you slow down any contact point in a tackle situation it will look dangerous. Rugby is not for sissies.
That brings me to referees.
They are turning this game into a farce, by denying us the pleasure of watching a hard, physical game of rugby. I am all for making the game as safe as we can, but not at the expense of tradition and the ethos of rugby that we value so much.
Referees are calling the shots at the IRB and introducing all these new laws, like at the scrum, which is also becoming a farce. The new laws have not made scrumming any safer; in fact, it could be having the opposite effect.
Former Pumas and Wallabies front-rower Enrique 'Topo' Rodriguez produced a 100-page document after receiving input from more than 100 other international front-row forwards, including myself.
Rodriguez sent this document, which highlighted the problems with the scrum and offered solutions (and was signed by himself and all the internationals who contributed to it) to the IRB.
What did the IRB and their referees do? They thought they knew better and binned it.
Referees are clueless when it comes to the scrum. (Its a lottery and open to abuse by biased refs)
They do not know who is at fault when a scrum goes down, because they have never played in the front row and don't understand the dynamics, yet they will not listen to 100 internationals who know what they are talking about.
Instead, the IRB introduces laws that allows the referee to take centre stage at scrum time, like a traffic cop orchestrating traffic. Sometimes the referee says the scrum calls differently and when the scrum collapses he and his gelled hair get to be in the spotlight again.
Often a referee is in the perfect position to award a try, only to call upon the TMO so that he can once again get to pose in front of the camera. Why does he not trust his own judgement?
The problem is that more and more people are becoming referees without having played the game, so they will never understand the ethos of the game from a player's perspective.
I am not saying you have to be a top player to be a referee, you just need to have played the game so you have a good feel for it and can show players some empathy. And I am all for using technology for dubious tries or foul play (especially when it involves a boot to the head, biting and eye-gouging).
But it's important that referees understand that when you send a man off the field, especially at the top end of the game, you are giving the other team a massive boost. No team that I know of practises every day with 14 men against 15, so they are going to be exposed on defence in a match situation.
I honestly respect referees and TMOs, but please shine up. You are ruining the game.
