On the ball: The referee is on the rugby field to apply the laws. Yet, when he does that and the match turns into a shambles we blame the ref, which is laying the blame at the wrong feet, writes Lucky Maree.
“Time off!” says the ref, and millions of rugby fans hold their collective breath, waiting to see whether the ref “goes to the pocket”.
It is such a frightening prospect that we no longer call it what it is: it is the ref whipping his weapon out of his pocket!
Week after week, it almost always plays out the same. For some infringement (and there seem to be more reasons for infringements every week), the referee awards a yellow card. Already that has an impact on the game. Rugby is a game played by 15 players per side.
But it doesn’t end there.
The same infringement happens again. Now the ref, for the sake of consistency, has no choice but to award a yellow card again. And then there is another infringement, and . . . you get the picture!
Over the weekend, New Zealand put in a World Cup winning performance when they destroyed Australia and put the Rugby Championship out of South Africa’s reach.
When South Africa played Argentina some hours later there was still a test match at stake between two of the premier rugby playing nations in the world.
The less said about that match the better. If you missed it, even if it was because of load shedding, consider yourself lucky.
But the match will be remembered. For all the wrong reasons. The ref, Australian Damon Murphy handed out six yellow cards. A masterful, if somewhat hysterical, display of dominance.
But the real problem does not lie with Murphy, no matter how badly he managed the game.
The almighty powers that rule rugby with an iron fist, keep on giving the ref more and more powers that can, and do, ruin matches.
If you give a criminal a machine gun, sooner or later he will use it. Refs can and do make mistakes, but don’t give them the equivalent of a machine gun and hope they won’t use it.
We all remember what happened to Rassie Erasmus when he dared challenge the referee. It was almost a year ago that they slapped him down with brutal force and to this day you will not hear a peep out of him. Nor will you hear any other coach or player make any comment. The penalties are too severe.
The question has to be asked. Hey, Mister Bill Beaumont and the guys of World Rugby, does it bother you that an international ref hands out six yellow cards in a single match?
And if the answer is yes, do you ever sit down and try to devise a plan to take care of it? Or do you simply sit in your meetings and say, the players have to improve their discipline and move on to deciding where to go for lunch?
And, in case you’ve forgotten, rugby is not about the referee and it is not about you safely ducking down behind the parapets in your ivory tower in Dublin. It is about the players and the crowd. Granted it is difficult, but please try and remember that.
Image source: @RugbyAustralia
