Rugby: Merit refs avoid bias charges

Super 14's brave move to merit appointments for referees has so far flagged just one main concern - some individuals are being overworked.

Fears the move away from neutral refs would lead to accusations of hometown bias or referees feeling pressured when asked to officiate games involving teams from their own country have not materialised.

According to New Zealand Rugby Union referees' high performance manager Lyndon Bray, the shift has changed little for the men in the middle.

"We had a meeting in Wellington last week and the refs are of the view that it is no different," says Bray. "It doesn't impact on them in a real sense. The impact is purely external and we all have to accept that there is going to be a natural perception when the wrong decision is made that there has been favouritism shown.

"But if we look at the example of the Blues versus Sharks game where a call was made that had a dramatic impact on the game - our review showed the issue was about guys not being used to working with each other. The issue was about communication."

The instance to which Bray is referring is the decision by referee Marius Jonker of South Africa to ignore a call by New Zealand assistant referee Chris Pollock that the Sharks were offside on their own goal-line.

Jonker overruled the call, the Blues lost the ball and 90 seconds later John Smit scored to give the Sharks a crucial home win.

Bray accepts it will be a hard job persuading everyone the mistake was more about poor communication and lack of familiarity between the officials. What concerns him more, however, is the need to better manage the number of games some referees are being asked to officiate.

New Zealand's Bryce Lawrence has already taken control of seven games and Bray says the official's assessments in recent weeks have shown he's reached a plateau.

"Mentally it's a heavy workload for the referees," says Bray. "Physically they can handle consecutive games but it takes a huge mental effort to be making decisions every minute.

"What we have found with Bryce is that his performance has reached a plateau. A bit like the players, you end up a bit flat.

"What we have learned is that we need to better manage referees in the first half of the competition so they can peak in the second half. When we were initially discussing the merit appointment system we had a guideline about guys not doing more than three games consecutively. I think that is about right and next year, if this system continues, we will probably see individuals take a rest after three games."

Whether the merit-based system continues will be down, largely, to the feedback received from the 14 coaches. Their views will be heavily canvassed after the tournament and their feedback digested to determine whether the system should continue as is or continue with modifications or be scrapped in favour of a return to neutral appointments.

One of the other challenges of the new system is providing opportunities for developing referees. The basis of the system is to reward the best referees. But that leaves the next tier out in the cold and gives them few opportunities to improve. Bray would like to see less-experienced refs given a chance in the latter stages of this year's competition but finding appropriate games for them is not easy.

Even if the merit system is retained, Bray says it is unlikely it will ever be used at international level. While test coaches have consistently said they would like to see the best officials take charge of the biggest games, Bray says the pressure would be a little too much.

'It's a bit of a stretch to ask a Kiwi to referee the All Blacks. The other thing is that we are lucky that a lot of major countries produce good referees so there is no necessity to have a Kiwi refereeing an All Black test."