GLORIOUS END TO THE SEASON…….

BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE WELSH

Warning  against avoiding the truth    (March 2013)

Sir,

We are seeing it in football (seemingly every game), both codes of rugby and cricket: high profile, match affecting ‘errors’ by referees and umpires. When will the respective governing bodies permit our over scrutinised officials to interpret the laws with common sense?

This was a letter I fired off to ‘The Daily Telegraph’ the day after Manchester United’s contentious defeat (Nani sent off for a ‘dangerous’ tackle) by Real Madrid in the Champions League. Frustration at its non appearance in the sports section was minimal compared to some of the conclusions I have reached since on the state of play in Rugby Union. Make no mistake, the game is in trouble.

Having been deluged with statistics once the finale of the Six Nations had been played out one inescapable verdict, unless you are Welsh, is that the entertainment value in the tournament was poor: less tries scored, more penalties than ever (a record number of attempts at goal in the Scotland v Wales match), more time wasted on irritating stoppages. Speaking to a highly respected former England player an hour before the debacle in Cardiff, his prediction was that the outcome would be influenced by how the referee interpreted the scrum and breakdown. They were prophetic words no matter how much criticism you want to level at England or praise you are keen to lavish on Wales. Indeed he shrewdly pointed out that virtually all the major contests were being affected by how the referee chose to approach these critical areas.

And there’s the dilemma; without the aid of a device such as ‘Ref Link’ no one has the faintest idea why the whistle has been blown such is the complexity of the Laws. Worse, referees are under strict instruction on how to apply them and you can guarantee the words “sympathy” or “nous” don’t appear in edicts from the IRB. Nor is this outlook restricted to the upper echelons. I watched a level 6 fixture the other week which yielded this unbelievable collection: 26 penalties, 2 free-kicks, 3 yellow cards, uncontested scrums for the last fifteen minutes and what seemed a record number of not straight lineout throws. Where exactly do you fit any rugby in amongst that lot?

There seems to be a stubborn unwillingness from the powers that be to make any changes or to redirect referees along a less pedantic route. England must have done their homework on the man in the middle for the Wales showdown but it didn’t look like it as the early penalty count mounted inexorably at the scrummage and tackle. Their body language suggested that “What on earth do we have to do to satisfy your requirements?” was the question to the referee whilst his reply looked suspiciously like “I’ve just about had enough of you lot.”

Manchester United’s exit from Europe came from one bad decision, no matter what Roy Keane thought, but Rugby Union’s problems are wider ranging. Fickle as ever, the media are moving from Lions Tour selection to World Cup prospects for 2015. If it is to be the showpiece we are promised, some urgent, serious thinking is needed to remove referees and unfathomable laws from being in the limelight. Then we might return to “common sense.”