Inga Tuigamala: Neutral referees fairest system

Opinion

Rugby should turn the clock back to ensure a more legitimate future.

I'm talking about referees, and the use of the neutral system. The Super 14 has abandoned the use of neutral referees, presumably to save costs. But the competition should do a u-turn, and use neutral referees and touch judges.

I have a fair deal of sympathy for Blues coach Pat Lam, who claimed that the inexperienced Garratt Williamson from New Zealand was unduly influenced by his two Australian touch judges in the Waratahs' favour in Sydney last week.

Referees and touch judges are having an enormous influence on the outcome of games - overly so unfortunately.

It would be far better if the players were the only ones who settled the outcomes, but the way things are going, it is doubly important to ensure that referees have the best chance of doing an even-handed job.

Just look at the Hurricanes match against the Sharks. I have looked at replays over and over and still can't find why the Sharks were awarded the full-time penalty, which they kicked to win the game.

People may claim this made for a thrilling finish, but careers are riding on such decisions and rugby deserves a system of refereeing appointments that at least looks fairer, and probably is.

This is a game of complexities and ones that aren't always highly visible from the stands, which makes it even more imperative that justice is seen to be done as much as possible.

In an ideal world, touch judges would only need to intervene for foul play, but they are getting more and more involved as assistant referees so they should also be neutral appointments.

The Blues face a mammoth task against the Bulls on Saturday night. Despite last week's loss to the Waratahs, I like what is emerging from the Blues, with the style of their attack and the use of aggressive defence as another weapon.

The Bulls must be favourites however - their record at the moment is untouchable. Of course it will be interesting to see if they can keep on a roll out of South Africa.

The Crusaders will be too strong for the Hurricanes, who have only themselves to blame for a series of defeats. The best chance of beating the Crusaders is early in the season, as the Reds did. The Crusaders are building a strong momentum.

The Chiefs have lost their way and could easily be tripped up by the Highlanders, who won't win the title but have the potential to cause influential upsets.

Ian Foster has a lot of work to do - his Chiefs seem to have lost confidence.