Referee Kane McBride was well wired for last week's shield clash - here he gets the lowdown in the wake of some biffo breaking out. Photo / File
I am intrigued by the latest development in the high-technology refereeing of rugby matches.
Courtesy of television and its marauding sideline camera bods, you often see the last-minute adjustments being carried out by a technician or two as the ref prepares to head for the middle to get the 80-minute show (68 minutes of it wasted on scrums) under way.
To his obvious discomfort, they lift up his shirt and check the electrical connections which are taped to his skin by strips of adhesive.
If his torso is not exactly barren when it comes to growing hair then the aftermatch technical de-brief (the removal) must be tougher than trying to get sense out of an aggrieved prop who can't quite grasp the overall concept of a correct bind.
There is a cord stretching up to one ear where a small receiver is also taped into place.
His assistants running the lines are also wired up so that they can step in and stop the game because someone pushed someone else about 35m from where the actual game was taking place.
And the system allows for the referee's words to be transmitted up to the comfortable den of the fourth official when it comes time to get a ruling on whether or not a try was scored.
"Are you there Stevo?"
"Yes, I'm here."
"Ahh, just check the final pass please to make sure it was not forward please."
Then there is silence for a time and all we see is the ref getting an earful from the three guys who failed to drag the rampaging try scorer to the deck in time.
He sort of smiles and nods and says things like "I understand what you're saying but I'll make the decision OK?"
And, then, just as the crowd starts to get impatient because they have all seen perfectly well on the big screen that there was nothing wrong with the try, the lines open up again.
"John ... I see no reason for you not to award a try."
Now this is not a bad thing because I have seen occasions where fourth officials were not involved and where replays have shown blatant errors.
So there is a place in rugby for technology, which is not surprising given there are (by last count) 74 million rules and laws ... and that's just for line-outs.
Those chaps with the whistle and the ability to tell someone he's naughty and has to go and sit down for 10 minutes have one hell of a job on their hands.
And so now, we the spectator and viewer, are being drawn into the wider communications network.
At recent games, the referee's decision has been relayed to the crowd by the ground announcer.
That I'm not so sure about, for sometimes it is best to sit there in bewilderment and mystery rather than create a situation where half the hopheads around you now get the excuse to throw even more verbal serves in the direction of the man in the middle.
And he does not deserve it.
They do a most splendid job, and I say that most sincerely because I vaguely know a couple of refs and there could be a drink in this for me.
I do feel for the whistleblowers, although I have little sympathy for the likes of Julian Assange.
I mean, if you are going to hole up in an embassy for what could well turn out to be the rest of your life, then why wander into the Ecuadorian job?
France or Spain surely ... the wine, the food, the dancing.
Ecuador is rich in bananas and cocoa. All the best Jules.
So anyway, there is rugby a-plenty again this weekend, although our Magpie chaps have a week off from staving off the heathens who come in search of the chunk of timber and silverware which we will fight to the very end for.
Here's my little challenge for you.
When the ref says "no" to a score you've got to loudly declare the reason why before he gets on the blower and asks Stevo and then tells the ground announcer.
• Rugby - pick of the bunch has to be the Bay (our lot, not the Steamers) up against North Harbour, Sky Sport 1 at 7.35pm Saturday: The Shield is safely tucked away for this weekend. In a place no one can touch it. Yes, it is in the Ecuadorian Embassy. But the thing is, when you have the Shield even the teams you are away to, where it is not up for grabs, like to charge in just a little harder so they can hopefully get to boast "we beat the shield holders". The status of being in possession of the Shield will inspire that sort of thing for the oppo. So, get wired up, join the ref and his cast of 30, and get behind the black and whites.
• The Graham Norton Show, UKTV at 8.30pm Thursday: The great thing about chat shows which emerge out of Britain is that they never seem to fall flat in terms of who they have fronting up. Ditto for the US, of course. So many stars, characters and personalities - and they all have plenty to say. Mr Norton is adept at getting his guests to say a lot, often colourfully. That is almost certainly going to be the case in this outing where he has two casts lined up. He has the Monty Python lads as well as the cast of Anchorman 2. It could get rather effervescent.
• James May's 20th Century, Prime at 6pm on Saturday: It's okay, the election is over so you won't miss any face-to-face table-thumping and shouting confrontations between the main contenders on the news. This James May show is a fine little escape from the reality of life, although he does touch on the reality of life when he decides to take a journey through it using a particular subject. And here it is the pursuit to discover what space technology and exploration has done for everyday life. James always dreamed of becoming an astronaut so expect some odd behaviour.
• The Brokenwood Mysteries, Prime at 8.30pm Sunday: I still don't quite understand how the Aussie-run channel gets to pick up the Kiwi shows, but there you are. Here we have the first of four feature-length stories based around the rural region of Brokenwood. There is murder afoot in the area ... so it sounds a bit like otherwise sleepy Midsomer where the local industry is solving homicides. A city detective is sent to the rural spot to investigate the death of a local farmer ... and all sorts of colourful events (in terms of red herrings) follow. From what I have seen it looks good.