WHERE HAVE ALL THE CHARACTERS GONE?

Recalling some more of the ‘good old days’ which shaped the destiny of many referees

Where have all the characters gone, both on and off the field? Seeing a few of them at the Merseyside Wooden Spoon Christmas Lunch has prompted the question. Nowadays there are nowhere near as many to be found playing, watching or refereeing and the three are inter-linked. Only the most conceited referee would deny that this interaction played an essential part in his advancement, especially if he went on to scale the heights. It would not be difficult to list quite a few clubs who made this contribution to a referee’s CV, but Waterloo FC, well represented at the hugely enjoyable lunch, was the epitome of this ‘experience.’

If you wanted to progress, the ability to listen was a reasonable starting point and there was never a shortage of advice at Blundellsands. But, before you even reached that stage, there was a special ambience to relish; best summed up by the legendary Gerald Davies who, speaking there several years ago at a Spoon Dinner, noted “I’ve just been through the clubhouse and you can smell the tradition and atmosphere.” Suitably intimidated by the usual preliminaries which were rounded off by the short walk through the main bar, it must have quickly dawned on the referee, particularly if it was his first visit, that something important was coming up. And, with a home team full of spiky but talented individuals facing the likes of Leicester, he would not be disappointed.

In the 1980’s those were the encounters that really meant something; cup-ties involving Waterloo were pretty special but the absence of leagues in no way reduced the fervour of the so called ‘friendlies’ (unless you considered the old Merit Tables to be significant) for all concerned. If you missed advice from a player it would quickly be reinforced from the terraces. No referee would ever admit to taking immediate notice of the regular “look behind you ref, number 7” but you can bet that subsequently, at the right moment, he would take a sly glance. If you survived what was rarely anything less than an ‘interesting’ eighty minutes you could prepare for an educative session near the bar, lurching home at an ungodly hour in the days when drink driving somehow mattered little.

I learned more from one visit to Waterloo than I might pick up in a full season from appointed advisers. Characters abounded, and many happily remain; different era, new rationale but, whatever you think, we are indebted to a golden age which produced quality referees.        

LESS TALKING AT SCRUM TIME

In the unlikely event that you keep the back numbers of these articles, you would have noted that the very first column in September predicted that in conjunction with the new directive to referees on the scrum engagement the “yes nine” communication to the scrum half would cause problems. Sure enough, as from the weekend January 4 it was dropped and replaced by:

If the 9 is on the far side of the scrum the referee will raise his hand and nod his head in a yes motion when he believes that there is sufficient stability for the ball to be put in. If the 9 is on the putting in side he will give the 9 a tap on the back when he believes there is sufficient stability for the ball to be put in.

My first reaction was that there might just be time for me to return to refereeing a few Ladies’ games and, having watched exactly where some referees are delivering their “tap on the back,” the fantasy intensified. Reality dawned once a couple of televised Heineken Cup matches had been scrutinized; we were back with the all too familiar “crouch-bind-set”- all fall down rigmarole. There may have been a discernible improvement at levels three and below but at the top end I’m afraid it’s a case of trying again.