Jeepers. An interesting afternoon yesterday. My self-built protocols don’t permit me to pass full thoughts across, but it constantly amazes me how hard it is for teams to not get a pretty clear message. Did they learn? No. Did I feel at all bad about reinforcing the message – no.

Did the right side win – they sure did. Rugby is the winner!

Busy week this week. Been drafted in to do a students cup semi and then I’ve been reappointed for the weekend.

And I’ve got a cracking graze all over my right shin. Wearing trousers today has been a tad awkward. Ouch.

Erm, one is amused that according to the RFU appointments, I am due to be in both Birmingham and Brighton this afternoon. Not quite sure which one to go to…..

Hey ho. Nice day for it. And I don’t even have to referee. Im number 4 for the Senior Cup semi final so I get to look after lots of replacements, 2 het up sets of coaches and watch the paperwork. Think I’d rather be in the middle….

But tomorrow brings the proper game. Ive been honoured to be asked to referee the Hamsphire Cup Final. They are usually really good games, so hopefully the nice weather and something non-league related will bring the best out of everyone.

Will report back in tomorrow night.

Neutral referees for Lions tests

The International Rugby Board has announced that the referee appointments for the three British & Irish Lions Tests in South Africa will come from neutral countries.

The decision comes after IRB Match Official Selection Committee Chairman David Pickering and IRB Referee Manager Paddy O’Brien met with management from the British & Irish Lions and South Africa teams in Dubai last week to discuss the selection criteria for the 2009 tour.

“We shared a very positive meeting with management from both teams and discussed the selection criteria for the three Test matches. All agreed that the most appropriate policy is the appointment of neutral referees from within the IRB High Performance Referee Panel,” said O’Brien.

“It was also agreed that the referee appointments for the seven additional provincial tour matches will be made by the IRB from the Panel regardless of nationality and will be merit-based,” added O’Brien.

The IRB Match Official Selection Committee will meet in Dublin on April 25-26 to consider the appointments for the tour as well as the June-September Test matches, including Tri Nations, Pacific Nations Cup and scheduled tours.

Source: IRB.com

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/7938106.stm

Feels like Rugby is moving down the Football route very quickly!

Another clear cut score and uncontroversial game for Refblog this week. erm… well….

Why is it spectators only want injury time played when they win in it? I remember fondly a game down in Hampshire in my early refereeing days when we played 7 mins of injury time during which the lead changed hands 3 times! I was hugely unpopular with everyone. Ahhh, the good old days! 😉

Time is one of the only things in which we are totally transparent. When we have a stoppage – injury or replacement – we hold hand up and call time off. When its all sorted, we hold hand up and call time on. We’re supposed to add a bit of whistle but sometimes that bit slips!

Take a game with 5 replacements each – how long does it take to make 10 seperate replacements in the second half? Add in 3 injury stoppages, lets say. It all adds up. But woe betide you when a side loses the game during this mysterious period. Next time you are at a match, take a stopwatch and follow the ref’s time on and off. I bet you’ll be suprised!

All this detracts from a cracking game of rugby – one which I know I thoroughly enjoyed playing my part in. There are some that say that Cup rugby is dead. I defy anyone who was at my game on Sat to say the same. Great stuff!

This week will see me at my local club running some lines, doing to sprint training, and reffing an active session for the lads who want to do some competitive scrums and lineouts. These are cracking sessions for us all. The coaches want us to ref it hard – we want to experiment a little and work on some things a little. Everyone benefits. Looking forward to it!

Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport2/hi/rugby_union/english/7912721.stm

England’s ref complaints rejected

England backs coach Brian Smith has been reprimanded for his criticism of Jonathan Kaplan’s refereeing in the Six Nations match against Wales.
Smith accused him of not being even-handed with England, claiming he had been swayed by the Wales management.

“Comments that appear to question the performance of Kaplan were unwarranted,” said the International Rugby Board in a statement.

“The official review of the match ranks Kaplan’s performance as high.”

The statement added: “The IRB is satisfied that Kaplan followed the correct protocol for addressing both teams on and off the field and dealt with England and Wales in a fair and professional manner and refereed what was in front of him.

“An official process exists for unions to give feedback to the IRB on refereeing performances.

“IRB referee manager Paddy O’Brien and the Rugby Football Union elite rugby director Rob Andrew shared a very positive meeting on Monday, which makes the timing of the comments regrettable and unfortunate.”

Smith had not held back in his criticism of Kaplan, who he believed had come under pressure from Wales to find fault in England’s play at the breakdown.
“His whole demeanour through that match, the way he addressed our team in the changing room beforehand – he had clearly had heaps of pressure put on by Wales,” said Smith, following the 23-15 defeat on 14 February.

“The way our team was addressed prior to the Wales game took me a little bit by surprise. It was clear to me that Wales had done their job in terms of getting stuck into the referee.

“Fair play to them for doing it. Teams are looking at every advantage they can get.

“What we are really trying to say to the refs is: ‘Please judge us the same way you judge other teams and do not come into the game with a preconceived idea’.”