OE eye-opener for Holwell

David Holwell's dossier on Northern Hemisphere rugby adds up to a lengthy indictment of the game in Britain and Ireland.

The former Wellington Hurricanes first five-eighths, now with Irish province Leinster, has been bemused at times by the radically different interpretations of the game.

The whole game, he says, is influenced by the totally different refereeing of the ball on the ground.

"The biggest difference between the game back home and over here is the contact at the breakdown. Here, it's all hands in, for you're allowed a lot more time to have a crack at the ball. But that slows the ball down so you get a lot more static ball. Therefore, you don't get that flow and continuity you have in the game in New Zealand.

"It also means you get so much possession here that's no use to you. It's not good for the game. People come and want to see more tries scored. But that's impossible because there are a lot more penalties in the game over here. You get penalties when it's refereed like this."

Holwell's complaints don't end there.

"A lot of teams play negative rugby over here. Therefore, defences get more time to re-align. It means they are in your face a lot quicker. It's definitely more negative rugby, and skill levels are a little higher in New Zealand, too."

Holwell's views are intriguing because in less than six months the Lions will begin their New Zealand tour.

And unless the players' habits can be changed instantly, the series could be decided by refereeing interpretation, always an unsatisfactory outcome.

And it's no good saying that won't be the case. The 1993 Lions believe to this day they were robbed of a series win in New Zealand by the penalty given against one of their forwards at a late ruck in the decisive test.

What Holwell says ought to be a concern for everyone in the Northern Hemisphere game. He points out the refereeing inconsistencies, saying: "You can have one referee one week allowing something, and then the next one the following week gives a yellow card for the same thing. There is often a big difference, especially between the Heineken Cup and the Celtic League.

"In New Zealand, it's much simpler at the breakdown. Once the ruck has formed, you can't touch the ball, but it doesn't seem to happen here like that. You get longer to fight for the ball and that gives defences extra seconds to re-align.

"Referees over here are not sufficiently street-wise. I know it's hard for them but they should be consistent. At the moment, they're not and players get away with a lot."

Nevertheless, Holwell in no way regrets his decision to try rugby life in the Northern Hemisphere. He signed for a season and will be 30 at the end of May. He'd consider one more season after that before returning to Whangarei where he plans to settle down and work in farming.

"I definitely miss Wellington but it's been a good experience over here. I'm looking forward to a break now the Six Nations is about to start because I've been playing rugby since February last year."

And he'll want to be fit and firing 100 per cent by the start of April when Leinster tackle Leicester in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals. That will be arguably the biggest match of Leinster's season.

But as well as studying the Northern Hemisphere game closely, Holwell has pondered at length where New Zealand rugby needs to go to revive its greatest times, starting he hopes against the Lions in June.

If there are lessons for the British and Irish players in his words, the same should apply to the New Zealanders.

"New Zealand rugby went away from the tight, mauling forward play they used to create. They need to get back to that a little more. You have got to have the forwards capable of playing that game, especially when you meet a side from the Northern Hemisphere.

"I believe the forwards are there in New Zealand to play that type of game, but they will need some time to get back to those habits. They have the whole of the Super 12 to try.

"Graham Henry will hope that some teams can get that structure back into their game. They need to do that first before they throw the ball around. But they finished last year on a real high against France in Paris and I think that tour showed there is a lot of depth in New Zealand rugby."

Holwell's eye-opening experiences on the other side of the world have convinced him Henry is right to advise his players to find worthwhile pursuits outside rugby.

"I could see what he meant, especially in New Zealand rugby today. The players have got to get a balance in their lives, get interested in things outside rugby. Whether it's physical labour work or study in front of a computer doesn't matter, but there has probably been too much bumming around wasting time. Players have got to get another job, just so that their brains don't fall asleep. I found that important in my rugby career."

Holwell says he saw going to Ireland as a whole new challenge. Playing Heineken Cup rugby has been a particular high point for he regards it as a very exciting, tough competition. "Pretty cut-throat" is his phrase.

"I wasn't at all surprised by the intensity of it. I was told it was one of the toughest competitions in world rugby and it's lived up to that."

And playing for Leinster, he has watched closely one of the toughest competitors in world rugby do his stuff: Brian O'Driscoll of Leinster and Ireland.

Holwell has regarded his own role as very much a link man, with O'Driscoll and his fellow Irish international centre Gordon D'Arcy outside him in the Leinster backline. He looks to distribute as much as he can, and believes that O'Driscoll would make an outstanding Lions captain.

"He shows a lot of leadership on the field ... He is tough physically and mentally. Nothing gets to him. He is that type of guy, pretty relaxed. He is the best guy to lead the Lions, in my view."

* Peter Bills is a rugby writer for Independent News & Media in London