A different coloured shirt in the Lion's Den.

by Glas a du Wed 01 Feb 2012, 7:27 am

The referee is a lion tamer. The laws of the game are his only tools as he steps into the cage, with the full backing of his Union of course.

Referees are special. If politics is showbiz for ugly people, refereeing is rugby for masochists. They can never win. Taking the whistle is the equivalent of coming between a man and his wife in an argument, you try to help, but both sides will end up hating you. They are Sicilian marriage councillors, divorce is not an option and the stakes are high.

In the olden days when rugby jerseys were hand knitted, shorts came down over your knees and every rugby player sported a moustache and slicked down hair, the referee was an optional extra. The players were expected to (and hence they did) self regulate. And there were far fewer laws then. It didn't last long.

By the time Max Boyce became the first comedian to top the UK Album Charts, the game had evolved a decent slew of laws and for the referee it was open season, in Wales at least. Boyce could talk of "The Sunshine Retirement Home for Blind Irish Referees" without censure in his own land, indeed to hoots of laughter.

Culturally the game was different in Wales of course. Its classless roots here (as in the North of England and Limerick; on the rest of the British Isles it was a game for public schoolboys and army officers) meant that there could be a healthy disregard for authority from players and spectators alike.

In Ireland to this day the older generation at least maintain a tradition that it is bad form to criticise the ref. Bad decisions even themselves out over a season they say. Generally though the advent of professionalism has changed the game. Pride is not now all that is at stake, there is money. Players dissent, crowds bay, coaches moan, pundits dissect, in slow motion, from multiple angles.

Daniel had faith on his side. A lion tamer (and a Sicilian marriage councillor if it comes to that) requires confidence. To engender confidence in seemingly hopeless circumstances by no more than an effort of will is a human trait. It comes as second nature to top referees.

If these referees actually stopped to think about what they were doing, they may never go through with it. Who but a masochist would seek to tame the lion of top flight rugby by applying a whip of conflicting and contradictory laws and utilising the chair of IRB interpretation?

I am not moralising. You shout at the ref if you want, I do. It keeps him on his toes, and the other side will. All I ask is that you think about that 'whip' the next time you see a tackle...

...player A is tackled by player B. Player A may not get up with the ball if the tackle is completed and must release (although he may place or pass) the ball before he does so. To complete the tackle player B must have hold of player A on the floor, but he must not keep hold of player A on the floor and must roll away from the tackle...

...and we haven't even got to the ruck yet! That is another article entirely. I won't even mention the scrum.

The truth is that the standard of refereeing now is better than it ever was. You would need to be superhuman to apply the laws as they currently are, especially given 'interpretation'. Referees are special but I have yet to meet a superhuman one.

No, I don't ask you not to shout, all that I ask is that you keep some of your voice...to roar at the IRB.