Refereeing's NZ head at the top of his game

Paddy O'Brien wants to stop backchat.

Brutalhonesty, clarity of thought and openness among officials have traditionally been as widespread in the world of rugby as snowballs in Death Valley.

If you ever thought that the Sicilian mafia invented the word omerta or silence, then you've been deluding yourselves. That oath of silence was almost certainly thought up in the committee rooms at Twickenham or Dublin.

All of which makes Paddy O'Brien's presence as the refereeing supremo at the IRB offices in Dublin as bright and cheerful as a leprechaun's hat.

Take O'Brien on the issue of crooked scrum feeds, a real bane of rugby's existence. I mean, why the hell wasn't so simple a problem sorted out years ago?

"It doesn't need a lot to sort out, and I would like to see it fixed up. Every second letter that comes across my desk now is about scrum feeds. But I was one of those referees that didn't tidy it up."

That's classical O'Brien, straight to the point and never mind the toes in the way. Even if it's his that are trodden on, that's just too bad.

But as one international referee told me recently, it's been like a breath of fresh air having Paddy there. Exactly.

The 46-year-old New Zealander left his home in Invercargill to take up the post offered him at the IRB headquarters in Dublin. It's a long way and a big lifestyle change, one that his family is still struggling to negotiate in many respects.

"I personally haven't been homesick but my family have. It's pretty hard on them," he admits.

But there isn't any doubt that O'Brien's was an inspired appointment that reflects credit not just on the new man but on those who made the selection. Rugby in the new era needs people like him.

His stance on the insidious spread of players back-chatting referees is uncompromising. He instigated a crackdown, starting at this season's Six Nations. Frankly, it was necessary and well explained.

"There is nothing in the law book that says players have the right to make comments to a referee. It is a privilege on their part, but sadly it has been abused.

"Half the time, players or captains are complaining simply to stop the other side taking a quick penalty. It is slowing the game up and has to be tackled.

"In fact, the law book says that players must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. Clearly, this falls within that particular category."

England has been targeted as one of the worst offenders. Their captain Martin Corry is regarded as a persistent offender, but other international players like George Gregan, the Australian captain, have been equally adept at the trick. Plenty of others are, too.

O'Brien admits it has become an epidemic. "It is a bad part of the game. I was the TMO [television match official] during last year's Lions tour of New Zealand and could hear players complaining to the referees throughout the games.

"At every decision, there was this talking going on. More recently, I went to watch a club game in Dublin and heard it there, too. We don't want to be stupid about this but we are going to act to stop it."

It is this type of willingness to confront potentially difficult issues that makes O'Brien the perfect man for this job. He exudes fitness and health, leaving you wondering why he quit top line refereeing. There is no retirement date for officials, so surely he could have carried on?

"I knew it was time to go. I felt the 2007 World Cup was too far away, I had lost motivation. And I have not missed it one bit. Mind you, I love this job and the challenges it offers me."

His concern is that as the pace of the game intensifies, referees may have to retire earlier and earlier. Yet, as he points out, former officials like Ed Morrison, Jim Fleming and Derek Bevan were at their peak in their final years. And they retired much later.

"Take a guy like Steve Walsh of New Zealand. He's been refereeing since he was 24.

"Can he referee for 24 years, considering all the pressures, the travelling and the time away from family? There is a burnout effect. Certainly, the travel got me in the end."

The family aspect, too. He remembers the day when his then 10-year-old son unwittingly inflicted grievous wounds on his father's heart.

"I was in the UK refereeing Wales v South Africa. He rang me up and sounded excited. He'd made 30 in a cricket match he'd played that day. Then he said, 'I wish you had been there dad'.

"You think about those things when you're on the other side of the world away from your family. Don't get me wrong, the job is great. But you give up things for it, too."

Besides, O'Brien's career concluded with one crushing disappointment. He was overlooked for the 2003 Rugby World Cup final, a match he should certainly have been given. He was by a distance the best referee there who was available.

Bizarrely, South Africa's Andre Watson was the choice and his handling of the game marred the whole final.

O'Brien says missing that final was the biggest disappointment of his career.

"I still struggle with the decision they made. I don't think the selection was made on form. The process the selection panel had used right through the tournament was not followed at the end. But I will hold my head up in public and just say, I didn't get picked."

O'Brien insists on being positive: "The truth is, the game has never been in better shape. When two teams decide to go out and play it's a pretty good picture to watch."

Especially with the right referee in charge.