When should Bias refs be challenged

Okay, so we have seen some really ugly  incidents this year on poor officiating. But  lets be honest, poor officiating has always been there. The advantage always seem  to go to the team that are more attacking, home or just a really good captain and not forgetting the most annoying scrumhalves. 

However, we saw Damian  given away 10 meters, even though he was right, but couldn't challenge the ref. 

Now, I'm not saying  that all refs are against the boks, but our Kiwi friends would agree where they have also been on the wrong end. But, this game has become so professional that it is all about fine margins. 

On the other side, the refs has 2 linesman and a TMO to help him out. 

Is it the laws or does the refs  over coach during the game. 

So for me there are a couple of incidents. Been watching some clips on officiating in the  URC. Moerat getting a yellow card, maul being sacked from the side etc. Not to mention teams deliberately sealing off the ball. 

So the SA teams have really been hindered by the refs bias. 

But on the other side, I never want to  see a water boy behave he did, shouting at the linesman and  chasing  him down. 

That unfortunately is what Rassie did with his video and his antics as a water boy. If you think about it, both Nienabar and Rassie  concockted a plan when they were at Munster to get one of the coaches on the field. Niena could do it as he is a qualified physio. 

So what do we do, do we follow footbal and give the coaches a box to stand in. 

Do we follow the Grid Iron and add an extra ref on the field. 

Do we relax the law a bit

Can the ref be challenged or at least fined?  

Yes, I love rugby for the very reason what we do not charge at the ref like footbal and shout at them, but I have seen too many players in rugby doing that. 

On one hand I want the refs to nip talking in the bud. 

But on the other hand, how do you tell a ref he need to sort out his decisions as he is making mistakes during the game. 

How many officials do we need now for an official game? 

But I also feel refs need be regulated and we need to stop poor decisions or at least minimise it

The refs have been in the Boks' pockets this year. I haven't seen opponents grab our players by the neck and throw them to ground. We've avoided much harsher punishments that would have been deserved. I haven't really raised the issue of ref bias for some time now as it really hasn't been an issue for the Boks for many years now. The plastiks are peddling a narrative that is over ten years old now. 

This mostly began when the IRB were policing style, chasing dollar signs. Just concentrate on following the letter of the law, strip away the policing of intent, as it cannot be proven either way in far too many instances. I like the NFL's challenge flags for coaches. They have three challenges per half, if they challenge and get it right, they don't lose a challenge. They'll be penalised if they are wrong, so there's a balance in when and where to do so. If something like that could be implemented, it would be good too. Not sure how that would work out. I still think a two ref system is needed, as one ref cannot cover enough angles. Random thoughts. 

Now, I'm not saying  that all refs are against the boks,

This would have removed any possibility of credibility to a post that begs for credibility.

Look at my analysis of Harrassmiss’ video….almost everything is a 50/50. Since then I think Augie is right, we got more than our fair share of 50/50 calls.

What do we do about it…nothing….it’s a very hard game to ref. But on the rare occasion you have a ref that is blowing against a team, perhaps 3 video referrals a game might take away the sting…as it did largely in tennis.

Agreed KC, refereeing can be made much better with a bit of oversight and criticism...accepting things as is won't make anything better. Inconsistent officiating and the perception of bias is a blight on the game...ignoring the obvious is only making things worse.

I don't think it's unreasonable after a game to respectfully ask a ref an explanation for his ruling and accept it. That's how players learn. It's when no explanation is given it will naturally cause distrust. 

Ref's should be accountable to justify their decisions and not think they are beyond accountability. We should on the otherhand realise they are human and make mistakes and should admit it and own up if they realise afterwards that they made a mistake. This will conjure up far more trust and respect and it can be accepted as human error in a most difficult job.

What you guys are missing is the refs are making literally a hundred judgement calls a game, in real time….with a view that in many cases is not as good as the view you have in front of your TV set.

And if we insist on being right in every case we are going to have 120 minute games….40 minutes being devoted to reviewing calls. It will destroy the game.

What we have now is refs are generally right and almost always right about the scoring decisions. Until Harrassmiss that was what everybody with half a brain understood they were accepting.

Harrassmiss then comes up with the notion, that you guys are parroting….that every decision has to be right. And yet even his tape, that I bet most haven’t even watched, was not able to clearly make right or wrong calls. They were still in the judgement zone.

But to some extent the damage has been done….reffing after that was no better, but certainly more labored.

I repeat my solution, give each team 3 reviews a game, with the review being renewed if they are right. That might add 10 minutes to the game, but I suppose we can survive that.

If you want to discuss performance, do it privately. How would you like someone criticising your work in front of your colleagues and customers? Be professional, but that's asking too much from the uncoach José. It was an opportunity to exert external pressure to get a desired result, nothing to do with improving the game. That's where I take issue with José's flawed video the most. The insertion of race was the very worst, and possibly the worst contribution to the game that I have ever seen.