On his ‘Presidential Tour’ of Lancashire David Matthews reports that

ALL IS WELL, WITH ONE OR TWO FAMILIAR GRUMBLES TO LISTEN TO

One of the great pleasures, it can hardly be described as a ‘duty,’ of being the President of Lancashire County RFU is that each Saturday you get to visit a different club. The choice is based on three simple factors: somewhere your predecessor didn’t manage to reach the previous season, preferably a match involving two Lancashire clubs and, thirdly, anywhere you just fancy going to. It is early days for me and so far my selection of venues has been guided by the first of those criteria. With one exception, I had never been to any of the clubs before and that came with a trip to Aspatria, always a favourite for me, who were playing De La Salle from Salford a few weeks ago. We were in Keswick for a family function and a four night stay; the advice of County officials was that in those circumstances, find out where the nearest Lancashire club was playing and go there. As it happened De La Salle were the only red rose visitors to Cumbria that day so the choice was easy.

Bearing in mind that the latter was a Level 7 fixture, and I have yet to watch anything above Level 6, it has been fascinating to observe the reaction to the referees in all these games, from both players and spectators. Three features stand out: generally players will accept decisions provided there is consistency – almost a throw back to the old John Dawes adage,” no referee, no game;” on the other hand spectators are quickly aware of when an adviser/assessor is present and do not take long to point out “Well what can you expect when there is someone on the side line with a clipboard ticking off everything he spots or misses?” Closely allied to that is the time honoured “too much whistle.”

In the first league game I attended the referee was certainly not of the super fit persuasion and, with due respect, would not have been the type you found popping up everywhere. In fact most stoppages in open play were controlled from forty metres back. But, there was no dissent, no back chat and he clearly enjoyed himself.

Seeing another referee endure the regulation debriefing after his game I wondered whether the adviser had noticed the obvious; his whistle was dreadful, hovering somewhere between the famous police, silent dog whistle and the mellifluous tone so beloved by our Southern Hemisphere colleagues-barely audible to the spectator; yet how had he managed to referee so long without anyone ever telling him? Bring back the good old Acme Thunderer. However, it is hearing the whistle too much rather than struggling to pick it up at all that causes the greatest concern to spectators and you don’t have to be a Rugby Union connoisseur to watch a match being played out harmoniously by two sides who want to play rugby, yet be astonished at the disproportionate amount of whistle. For the umpteenth time, it is one of the most complex sports ever devised, second only to cricket in its ability to be easily interpreted, but it cries out for sympathetic management.

On we go then, around the County, spreading goodwill (I hope), receiving marvellous hospitality and, though not admitting to it, taking away an impression of the referee. I must emphasise that is all it is, as I have never set out to watch his every move and I certainly wouldn’t fancy writing a three-hour report every Sunday. If Level 6 and below qualify as grassroots, or the less patronising ‘community’ rugby, then all is well. I look forward to seeing more of it and discovering the real differences higher up the ladder.

 

David Matthews (11/10/2014)