Jonathan Kaplan

Do I really need to confirm what everyone else already knows… This was not a good weekend for referees!

We are operating in a system where I have said that these type of weekends are not avoidable and until key elements of the system are exposed, and then adequately addressed, this will continue into the future.

The referees are not getting it right, and it is pointless saying after the fact, that things need to be looked at, when the writing was on the wall from the get go.

ratetheref

This is crisis management on the part of the powers that be, and smacks of them ensuring that the budgets they offer to this pillar of the game are maintained.

New Zealand vs Argentina

Argentina came to NZ as rank underdogs but belied their status but really taking the game to the All Blacks.

They harried and hustled the best team in the world and although behind on the scoreboard, proved that with time they are going to be competitive and win some.

With the score delicately poised at 18-9 ( the home team were in control ), the Pumas charged down a kick and went on to score. The ref called the play back for a knock on. It was an error.

But it was one which really was not a good look for the game as it appeared the referee didn’t understand the difference between a knock and a charge down, which I am sure is not true.

Are we going to go along the tack that we all make mistakes. Not I.

In an age where the technology is available, the referee should have allowed the obvious score, and THEN checked to see if the knock only he saw actually occurred.

The fact that he blew his whistle and didn’t use common sense is not good enough.

Argentina were denied and it had a profound effect on the contest.

I don’t think the All Blacks would have been denied as I think they may have had too much class, but I’ve been wrong before.

The fact is that this type of thing should not be tolerated in professional sport. The technology is there. Use it!

Australia vs South Africa

Similarly in the other test, there were numerous decisions where the referee got it wrong.

Unfortunately, the referee deemed the Duane Vermeulen huge hit on James Slipper illegal, when it wasn’t and it resulted in 3 points. He did not have a clear view on the hit but still found the penalty.

It was an error as was his reasoning that the tackle slipped up. Over sanitizing the game will do nothing for the confidence of the players, and nothing for rugby as a spectator sport!

Later on he penalized Habana for a dangerous tackle and was advised by the assistant referee to confer with the TMO to make sure. He did this and bizarrely still wanted to go to his pocket. That was a poor decision.

It is wrong if match officials do not understand the sport at the highest level. None of the top 20 officials in the world should be giving a yellow card for that offense.

And if you think I am wrong, then there should have been a whole slew of yellows not only in this match, but others in the championship too. Jean De Villiers tried to reason with the referee, but he had made his mind up.

It is not good enough.

I have great sympathy for referees who make mistakes on the hoof ( as the referee appeared to do when he penalized Aus 5m from the SA try line ), but not so when they do it from slow motion replays.

Furthermore, the public will be baying for some sort of action to be taken against the referee as the perception is that they are getting short changed by this type of random decision making.

SA played much better than their last 2 tests but still came away empty handed. There were parts of their game which appeared to improve, including the set piece, but some of the errors, particularly kicking errors cost them dearly. Some of the inaccuracy by Steyn, Pienaar and le Roux cost them. Their scrum will be under more pressure against the All Blacks, and they will have to be very accurate for the full 80.

Currie Cup

Back on the home front, WP were too slick and too strong for a game EP Kings and bagged the full compliment of 5 points.

The Steval Pumas surprised some but not me when they went to Bloem and whipped the Free State Cheetahs.

Griquas pulled off a huge upset when they beat the Sharks in Durban despite not having won a game the whole season.

The a Sharks have not been able to assert themselves and may even be in danger of missing out altogether if they don’t lift. Their game management and game understanding as well as leadership need to improve before the season gets away from them.

I thought the referee did not referee the scrums very well at all. The Griquas loosehead was hinging the whole afternoon and got away with murder.

The Sharks tight heads were repeatedly penalized incorrectly and in a tight game, the referee needs to get these calls right.

The balance between sanction and management needs to be carefully thought out as leaning the wrong way can change the shape of the game. No one man should have that power, and education and constant coaching are vital.

The Blue Bulls comprehensively turned the form book upside down when they grew an extra leg at Loftus and soundly beat the Golden Lions. They were deserving and hopefully will be able to carry that form into their away fixtures too.

The referee did very well on the day, but once again, a poor scrum penalty against a dominant Lions scrum was badly exposed by the tv pundits.

There are too many scrum sanctions for my liking in the modern game and teams and players milk this aspect of the game.

It is the most difficult aspect of the game to get right, as referees are being strongly encouraged to blow for infringements and the nett result is that in some games opportunities for playing off attacking scrums are becoming few and far between. What a shame!