This year the referees plan a massive crackdown on the breakdown. Over the years this is the most hotly debated and controversial part of Rugby. It boils down to interpretation by the referee. How quick do you blow? How consistent can the Referee be? Expect a lot of penalties early in the season. Eventually we might see less penalties but the first few weeks teams must make sure that their  kickers are on form.

Tank Lanning of Front Row Grunt had a interview with Andre Watson, currently: SA Rugby – National Referees Manager.

This is what the referee boss had to say about the breakdown.

He fully agrees that the breakdown is a mess, and he would love to see a few rule changes to simplify things. The plan is to take the game off the ground this year, with the tackler having to get to his feet before he can play the ball. Starting with the Varsity Cup, referees will be blowing this unbelievably strictly, and in his opinion, this will make Heinrich Brussow an even better player, because of all the world’s great fetchers, Brussow is fastest to his feet after making a tackle.

On Sport24 world number 1 referee Jonathan Kaplan has warned that referees will come down hard on players who illegally contest the ball in the ruck this year.

At the rucks, we will be focusing on the tackler to ensure he fulfils all of his obligations. If he doesn’t we are going to come down on him early. We will take a harder line on players who are illegally contesting the ball. The tackler knows he needs to let go and if he is not, he will be penalized.

Kaplan believes referees will come down hard on players who play illegally at the breakdown but does admit he has concerns with some of the negative aspects of play that are employed by teams during matches.

“It concerns me to see the constant setting and resetting of scrums and the winding down of the clock through this,” Kaplan said, “ As match officials we don’t want to guess. We will need to take a stronger line on the amount of resets in a game.

I hope they find a way to be more consistent. It is all good and well that Heinrich Brussow has this massive standing before referees, he cant do no wrong. But he too does not leave the tackled player, he is just fast enough to get to his feet. So if the way he does it is right , then that is the standard set. Now refs must blow all other players the same. They must focus on Consistency.

“If we sort out those two areas, there will be quicker ball and the game will flow better.”

While Kaplan doesn’t agree with former England skipper Lawrence Dallaglio’s assessment that the breakdown is the source of the problems in the game at the moment, he does point out that referees often get the blame for enforcing the laws, where it rather the laws that should be questioned.

“There are a set of laws that are applicable to rugby,” Kaplan explained, “In ten years time they might change to make it a quicker match, but for now the emphasis is on allowing a fair contest. That has always been in the charter and it is important for referees to allow a fair contest