Don't shoot the ref - he's only following orders

By CHRIS RATTUE

There have been rugby referees who could incite almost irrational reactions from normally sane individuals, and in some cases you would have to say quite rightfully so.

Englishman Ed Morrison, who looked so contented with himself and delighted at finding something to penalise, was certainly one. It brought a tear to the eye to read of Ed's retirement, remembering some of his performances (please don't go into rugby administration, Ed).

There were South African referees of days gone by, who probably did enough to earn a spot on the Springboks team list.

Australian Wayne Erickson, whom commentators always refer to as a former front rower, delights in sorting out scrums. Yet there are those who play and coach the game who reckon a little knowledge is a particularly dangerous weapon in Wayne's case.

And on any given day, you can find a referee who simply loses the plot or decides to invent an entirely new one. The words Paul Honiss, Carisbrook and penalty tries come to mind on that score.

But it seems the Super 12 referees are at the moment getting a particularly bad rap from some quarters - particularly Brumbies coach Eddie Jones - and unfairly so.

Jones claimed: "The best thing rugby league has going for it is the blokes who control the games in rugby."

This was after Andre Watson had blown for 37 penalties as the Brumbies crushed the Crusaders.

But the referees are, in this case, the messengers and should be spared the bullets. In an age where refereeing is their job, they are simply following orders.

The worry is that the orders seem a bit too restrictive in a sport that is, by nature, quite unstructured. Unlike, say, rugby league and gridiron, a tackle does not cause a temporary halt to proceedings and possession can continually be disputed.

There is no way of writing a rule that can adequately deal with all the different situations that occur in rugby union when a mass of bodies start colliding with each other.

The obvious problem area is the tackle ball rule, and the over-rigid refereeing of players not staying on their feet. Referees must have a feeling for the game, and players get a feeling for referees.

This occurs in all sport where interpretation is involved, a prime example being in baseball, where different umpires have different strike zones.

Eddie Jones called for consistency after Andre Watson's performance. But to these eyes, Watson was consistent - he refereed in much the manner that, say, Colin Hawke did in Dunedin.

The only referee really out of step was Carl Spannenberg, who looked like a confused third former on his first day at high school.

Maybe a problem is that all the maverick-type referees suited to a maverick-type game are not interested in the rigid, corporate systems of today's rugby world, leaving us with the swot-merchants and whiteboard addicts who think the best way to succeed is by following every order to the letter t.

But, in this case, the orders are pretty cut and dried. The IRB wants "consistent" refereeing throughout the world, and wants certain new rules strictly adhered to because it does not like the way the game has been evolving.

And despite Jones' protestations, it was hardly a bad spectacle in Canberra.

Maybe, just maybe, the rules had something to do with that.

Certainly, there were errors from referees - Spannenberg's sinbinning of Brad Fleming being an obvious example. But there were plenty of errors from players, too, which gave up penalties.

Dion Waller looked like he had mistaken John Eales for a ladder as he hauled the Reds lock down from a dangerous lineout height in Brisbane. And it wasn't a referee who smashed De Wet Barry's face in Cape Town.

If coaches and players are so concerned about penalty counts - and to be fair quite a few have actually supported the IRB direction and referees' efforts - then why don't they cut out the blatant infringements themselves?

And by Crusaders' coach Robbie Deans' own admission, the Crusaders got their planning all wrong over summer as Australia streaked ahead tactically.

For New Zealand rugby supporters, refereeing should have been among the least of their worries after the opening round.