Even the best whistleblowers have bad days, and it's always been that way, writes John Drake
KEY POINTS:
Recent Super 14 matches have highlighted the good and bad sides of the current state of refereeing in the Southern Hemisphere - unfortunately most has been negative. The received wisdom is that today's professional referees are paid good money, are pampered and protected, and have technology and assistant refs to share the pressure. Yet too often they get the crucial decisions wrong.
We can all quote many examples of games which have been butchered by quirky and inconsistent calls from the man with the whistle. I often read and hear about how bad the current mob of whistle-blowers are compared to years gone by. I suspect a severe case of rose-tinted glasses.
I recall one of our best refs, Paddy O'Brien - now boss of the bosses at refereeing level - having a nightmare game at the World Cup in 1999.
The match was Fiji v France, Paddy's display made Wayne Barnes' performance officiating the All Blacks against France in 2007 look like a virtuoso performance. Paddy cost Fiji any chance of winning with an inept display that gave France a 28-19 victory - if you follow the chain, his efforts meant the All Blacks missed a possible semifinal against Fiji. Ouch.
Paddy put his hand up and admitted it wasn't his finest hour - he must still cringe when reminded.
In my playing days there was a referee down south who proudly stated to whoever would listen that he had never refereed a match where Auckland had won. In those days Auckland was averaging about one loss out of about 16 starts a season. So if the TAB had been around, that referee would have been closely looked at by the police fraud squad.
For many years Auckland started the representative season with a trip down the Great South road at Queen's Birthday weekend for a friendly against Waikato. The locals chose their own ref.
I recall watching a match officiated by one of the famous Clarke brothers where one ruck lasted more than two minutes, or until the Waikato forwards had removed as much blue and white fabric from the unlucky few who had the stupidity to try and compete for the ball.
When a brave Auckland player asked the referee how he could allow such a disgrace he was penalised and marched 20 yards so the Mooloo boys were closer to the posts.
In club rugby I had the pleasure of being involved with a referee called Frank McMullen. Frank had been a pretty good AB in his day and had the respect of most players he controlled.
He was given a sole test match - All Blacks versus England in 1973. The ABs lost and Frank never had another test.
Frank refereed the game to be enjoyed by the players, spectators and himself. Sometimes he would announce to both teams that the style and standard of the match was rubbish and if the players didn't improve things then he would - usually by adopting a liberal interpretation of the rules.
Frank wasn't a soft touch - I recall him marching a teammate 90 yards down the pitch for talking back. When we reached the goalline the smart-alec player asked Frank what was next. Frank smiled and simply said "you'll keep, sonny".
Afterwards Frank would be reprimanded and ostracised by the referee markers. Frank didn't take this badly as by then he was usually sharing more than a few beers with the players he had just controlled.
Compared to today, refereeing was a lonely business. Touch judges were only there to say where the ball went out. Players could perform acts of foul play and cheating right in front of the TJ knowing nothing could be told to the blind referee on the other side of the ruck.
The game was slower and certainly the pressure was less but somehow things seemed to flow a bit more smoothly. The glare of television cameras have put every decision under the microscope.
Perhaps the powers on high could look at some of the following suggestions:
* Get the newly promoted "assistant referees" to police the offside lines, rucks and forward passes - in fact anything that should be relayed to the main referee. Too often they go missing in action when things get tough.
* The television microphones for the referees should be used in a manner where only the important comments are transmitted - a la the NFL. I suspect some top line refs enjoy talking on TV non-stop for 80 minutes and hearing their voices again on replay later.
* Let the TMO have input for reviewing play leading up to a try rather than just what happens in-goal.
* Let the referee refer incidents of importance to the TMO. Follow the common sense applied by the NRL in such matters.
* Have the referees openly praised or otherwise by their bosses for match performances. If referees are relegated after a below-standard performance then everyone, including the referee, can move on.
ATTRIBUTES OF A GOOD REFEREE
*Excellent fitness is mandatory because of the way the game has evolved.
*A full knowledge of the complex laws of the game is required, and how to apply them.
*Referees need to communicate well to the players; they have to control the match but also remember it is for the players and the spectators.
*They need a thick skin, a refined sense of humour and sense of perspective.
*Referees must be confident in their own ability, they must have a presence and project convincing body language.
