Top referee: The scrums could be shambles when Lions play All Blacks

Lions halfback Rhys Webb feeds the scrum during the tour game against Blues. Photo / Greg Bowker

Test rugby's most experienced referee has revealed he disagrees with a host of key decisions made by whistle-blowers so far on the Lions tour.

And Jonathan Kaplan, the now retired South African who has refereed more tests than anybody, predicted the scrums could be a shambles in the All Blacks-Lions series.

Now an often vocal commentator on the game after retiring in 2013, Kaplan has penned a strong column for the London Telegraph.

"I, for one, did not agree with many decisions that were made in the Crusaders game and some from the Highlanders game," Kaplan wrote without revealing which ones.

"There were also quite a few puzzling calls in the Blues game.

"If anyone truly believes there will be consistency of refereeing in the Lions Test series against New Zealand, they should think again.

Kaplan, who controlled 70 Tests and officiated at four Wold Cups, was careful not to criticise the three refs appointed for the Lions tests, claiming World Rugby is the true culprit for the inconsistencies currently plaguing the game.

"This is not to denigrate the quality of the officials involved," Kaplan wrote of his column's purpose.

"Jerome Garces, Romain Poite and Jaco Peyper are all fine referees in their own right - but simply to observe that the system just does not allow for it."

"It was the right call to bring in the best referees for the series but that falls a bit flat if there isn't much consistency when the big calls are made.

"World Rugby has done a tremendous job in trying to get scrum set-up and engagement to be consistent, and to try and encourage a contest, but I don't think that scrum sanctions are accurate, nor are they consistent.

"There are certain referees who appear to be a lot more keen to be punitive than others - and therein lies the rub.

"Who monitors this and how well are they coached to achieve consistency?

"There are some referees who fancy themselves in this arena, and they are not the best!

"Scrum coaches don't even agree on right and wrong, so what price the poor referee?"

Kaplan also noted the impact varying individual refereeing styles can have on games.

"When you look at the officials selected for Lions duty, there are obvious contrasts.

"Garces has a completely different style to that of Poite - Garces appears to allow a better flow - yet they are both from France.

"Peyper - who takes charge of Saturday's game against the Maori All Blacks - is firm, workmanlike and thorough.

"Variations between series to series, tournament to tournament, are inevitable; what concerns players, coaches, media and the rugby-loving public is a lack of consistency within individual series."

Kaplan urged World Rugby to review its refereeing development and coaching support systems to address the inconsistencies.

"I don't think the three referees selected for the Lions Test matches are similar and neither do I think they will receive nearly enough information and coaching to allow for this to improve," he wrote.

"That doesn't mean that we will see poor performances: they may just be different. It's what we've become used to."