Australia's Will Genia walks from the field after getting a yellow card from referee Craig Joubert during the Rugby World Cup Pool A match between Australia and Wales. Photo / AP.
Australia's Will Genia walks from the field after getting a yellow card from referee Craig Joubert during the Rugby World Cup Pool A match between Australia and Wales. Photo / AP.
It's time to give international referees more help.
Whether it is an NFL-like telestrator line from the back of the last man's feet across the field, monitored by the under-employed TMO, or a second on-field referee like league, it has become blatantly obvious to me during this tournament that it is more than a one-person job.
It was equal parts growing frustration and looming trepidation while watching the last weekend of RWC2015 pool play.
A match report from New Zealand's bete noir in the days before paywalls Stephen Jones described the 15-6 Pool A encounter between Australia and Wales as one of the greatest tryless encounters in rugby history. I'd certainly concur that it was a tryless encounter.
It was intense, it was close and it was big on muscle and sinew, but it was a long, long way from great, particularly the first half.
The same with Ireland's win over France. The men in green showed true courage to compensate for losing three key players - Paul O'Connell, Johnny Sexton and Peter O'Mahony - but they were aided and abetted by a French side who had one big idea: smash them up front.
Earlier this year I spent a day at Boyd Park, Te Aroha, watching two Thames Valley clubs play for the Dr Dunn Memorial Trophy. There was a ton more wit and imagination that day than there was at Twickenham on Sunday morning.
Sure, there wasn't as much at stake - though try telling that to the players and supporters of Waihou and Cobras - and the execution rarely matched the vision, but you could see they were keen to let the ball breathe.
But before you think this another why-NZ-rugby-is-great-and-the-rest-aren't sort of yarn, think again.
The reason why the club game was great fun and high-stakes rugby is less so is space, or lack of it. At international level it is all about committing as few players to the breakdown and fanning out from there. What you do from there - up and in, umbrella, drift - depends on the schematic preferences of the coaches, but the principal remains the same: get players to the breakdown to slow and disrupt, but don't over-commit.
With that being the case, the offside line is critical, yet to my eye Craig Joubert and Nigel Owens last weekend overlooked it while hawkishly officiating the breakdown. (I have a theory on this that I won't bore you with for too long other than to say that when referees are competing to get appointed for knockout matches, just like teams are, they like to show off to their bosses - the offside line is a bit boring really, but showing astuteness at the breakdown and scrum is warmly received.)
But you have to have tremendous sympathy for referees. They would need eyes in the back of their heads to see everything on the field and in the general scheme of things, they probably view defenders cribbing a few feet on the offside line as a misdemeanour rather than a felony. But I'm starting to believe that outside of eye-gouging, tip tackles and other acts of intentional foul play, offside is rugby's greatest crime.
It is hard enough finding room when 30 great athletes engage in turf war without a few of them taking liberties at every breakdown.
1. Get the technology off the NFL (which, incidentally, have seven on-field umpires) that has the orange line across the field. They have it for downs, rugby needs to use it for the offside lines. Have the TMO constantly monitor it and tell the on-field referee when it has been over-stepped.
2. If they decide the technology is not easily applicable, get a second referee on the field, one is in charge of the breakdown, one the offside line. The assistants can continue to monitor the lines and look for foul play.
I can already hear people say that there is already too much whistle in rugby and this will only add to the problem, but even if that is the case initially, in the end it should act as a deterrent.
While we're at it, here's another way to ensure the offside line is respected: after three infractions, it is not the player caught offside the third time that is sinbinned, but the captain. Watch the discipline improve after that.
Rugby is a terrific sport that offers limitless possibilities for attack until, it seems, squeaky-bum time at the World Cup. Anything that can turn classic tryless encounters into plain old classic encounters should be encouraged.
On the theme of rugby and its arcane rules, check this out. As the All Blacks and France prepare to face off in Cardiff, the name Wayne Barnes hovers in the background like an uninvited guest at a party. It is worth remembering then, that France have reason to feel they're owed one too. Here's a curious Australian-Irish view of the 2011 final.
The Australian, Matt Williams, makes some good points - and most NZers would acknowledge that the All Blacks got the rub of Craig Joubert's green, but Neil Francis is a bit unhinged, particularly when he starts stating with absolute knowledge what would have happened even if France had taken the lead.
SPORTS SHAREMARKET
I'm buying...
Japan 2019
Had my concerns, it has to be said, especially when it was announced that they wouldn't be getting the promised new stadium. But the three wins at RWC 2015 should provide a massive stimulus for Japanese rugby and as long as that isn't eroded by a weak Sunwolves team, then it should carry through to the next tournament. The Tier One nations could do their bit too, by making sure Japan gets regular tests against the big teams over the next four years to keep the interest high.
Don't hesitate to look me up if you want bad betting advice.
Last week: Two collects in two weeks has led to a sudden surge in confidence. I took Ireland to beat France at $1.65. Les Bleus and Les Blacks were just meant to meet again in a quarter-final in Cardiff.
This week: $10 on NZ to beat France by 12 and under at $2.60. Surprised that the oddsmakers like 13+ better but perhaps they think if Ireland can beat them by 15, surely the All Blacks will better it. I'm not so sure.
How about a follow-up article on Bryce Lawrence's performance in the South Africa-Australia quarter-final in 2011.
Trust me, that game still hurts us as much as your loss to France.
Good luck for the weekend.
Cheers, Andrew Maxwell
Thanks Andrew. For those wondering, Andrew is referring to this retrospective feature on the day the All Blacks lost in Cardiff.
Obviously there is more resonance here for perceived injustices against the All Blacks than there is the Boks, but Andrew's point is valid that at some point in time nearly every team will feel like they have been cruelly denied what they deserve. It is the nature of rugby with its many rules and regulations, one in particular that i have tried to tackle above.
The one thing I would say about Lawrence, is at least he had the guts to come out and talk about the match. Even if you don't agree with his take on policing the breakdown, you can read what he was thinking. I don't think Barnes has ever explained his performance in Cardiff (and perhaps he doesn't feel he needs to).
P.S. The mailbag on the hate for England rugby is closed.
Write to me at dylan.cleaver@nzherald.co.nz. Correspondence may be edited for errors and abridged.
