TIMES HAVE CHANGED FOR SIX NATIONS REFEREES BUT THE BUZZ REMAINS

A lot has happened in twenty-five years

You might work out how long ago it was that I made appearances in the Five Nations Championship (Italy had not yet been admitted then) when I recall that prior to the game between Wales and Ireland in Cardiff the three officials had steak and eggs for lunch!

It was 1993. In this age of nutritionists, dieticians and massive emphasis on match preparation can you honestly imagine sitting down to that? Acute indigestion at the very least would have been on the cards.

The three referees who had the honour of opening the 2017 Six Nations Championship were : R.Poite (France), A.Gardner (Australia) and J.P.Doyle (England). I don't know exactly what their pre-match routine involved but you can be sure it had nothing to do with the consumption of steak. There have also been other significant changes.

The actual process of appointments to every game was very different. Originally, from a panel of three nominated by each nation, the visiting country had the choice of referee. This somewhat unfair system was replaced by the appointment of the referee being made by the host nation, still from their international panel, along with who was to be no.1 touch judge (also reserve referee) and no.2 touch judge, all from the same country. In 2017 we have a number 4 who would be capable of taking over in the middle plus the television match official and there is usually a split on which countries these are from. All wired up for communication and all playing a vital role in assisting the referee; there are no longer touch judges, but assistants. Their input is considerable  compared to all those years ago, concentration still paramount but nothing like the duties of the 'team of four' who go into action today.

Probably the time and content of briefings have changed. I have experienced a variety of locations, ranging from coffee bars in mid-morning of the game to the referee's room at the hotel around lunchtime. The length, too, could be different, a couple of Southern Hemisphere officials were quite happy to leave it at "you guys know what you're doing, enjoy it." Similarly, the meetings with the two captains varied, again depending on the referee; the best were always very short and the invitation to ask questions was invariably greeted with "nothing ref." No surprise there because the research on the referee will have covered everything and it would be unlikely if, an hour before the kick-off, any more vital information could be discovered. The week before England v France, coach Eddie Jones went to watch the Australian referee warming up with a National League One fixture at Rosslyn Park. It would be fascinating to know what did go into his dossier.

Taken for granted nowadays, the provision of kit was something of an issue twenty-five years ago. Basically, you provided your own, including the garish purple RFU Panel tracksuit, so beloved by the top referees of the time. The rest of your outfit was very much up to you and when the IRB took over, more kit gradually came the way of the referee, even to include a top quality, sponsored, sports watch in the last ten years.

Once the last few days before a Six Nations appointment arrived, you would be very much 'up' for it and there was a tremendous buzz in all the wonderful capital cities which stage the games. No matter what the experience already gained, Messrs Poite, Gardner and Doyle and their support teams will all have enjoyed something unique on the opening weekend of this season's tournament, even if they did miss out on the high protein pre-match snack!

8Feb17