At a time of intense competition to recruit youngsters to sport, David Matthews reports

NOTHING EASY ABOUT REFEREE RECRUITMENT THESE DAYS

Unintentionally, the last two features to appear in these columns turned out to represent the opposite ends of the spectrum in the fortunes of a referee. The first, a deliberate attempt to encourage more to take up the whistle, concentrated on the achievements and success of Ian Tempest, the second warned of the eagerness of Premiership Directors of Rugby to openly criticise the referee whenever they felt they had been badly done to. Equally worrying was the willingness of a large section of the press to give maximum publicity to some of these tirades.

Professional Referee Manager Ed Morrison could hardly have put it better when he said, “When people who are thinking about coming into refereeing read that sort of stuff, what effect does it have on them?” In the same publication that this quote was printed, The Rugby Paper, essential reading every Sunday (see, not all the press are bad), Colin Boag went further, “There are some things in life that demand zero tolerance, and I believe publicly criticising referees falls as one.” The statement neatly summed up his lengthy piece which suggested “draconian punishments for any public comments on referees.” Both the writer and Ed Morrison were at pains to point out that a clear but private process exists for coaches to express their feelings to the Professional Referee Unit. Not only that but the referees and their assistants, in common with officials from other sports, review their performances more meticulously than ever; the scrutiny, analysis and feedback are of the highest quality.

There are two myths to explode in conjunction with the efforts to recruit and promote referees. The notion that former players are queuing up to join the ranks is ridiculous; it is usually coupled with the fanciful idea that their unique experience at the top would qualify them for immediate ‘fast tracking.’ Just two have followed the path to international level in recent times: Alain Rolland of Ireland (maybe not quite so recent for many to remember his playing days!) and the New Zealander Glen Jackson who played for Saracens, began his refereeing tuition in England and took charge of the England v Fiji game last November. The other great misconception, most commonly given an airing whenever the leading referees come in for criticism, is that the creation of more full time referees would provide the answer. Seven enjoy this status in England at the moment and all of them reap enormous benefits but there are several just behind, plus others servicing the national leagues and not many of those would ‘give up the day job’ even if the opportunity arose. Their experience, abilities and contributions are no less valuable.

Now, if there are to be more joining the ranks and, hopefully making their way up the ladder, extra safeguards need to be built into the system. Time is of the essence in order to balance family life, work commitments and leisure activity. Like it or not, Rugby does fall into the last category and to maintain the enjoyment there will have to be a reduction in the demands made. Meetings, courses, training and travel do all play a part but once refereeing starts to become a job the enjoyment can soon wear off; careful consideration will be needed to ensure that, as all sports compete to attract young men and women, rugby refereeing is attractively presented.