THE referees have become the villains of the 2015 Rugby World Cup and the way we are going they will certainly play a major role in the final decision on who wins the Web Ellis trophy.
They will most probably again — steal the limelight.
Until they invent robots to ref, whoever controls the final will not have that monkey on his back, the local crowd, to influence his decision. Wales and Australia have seen to that.
South African Jaco Peyper had the unenviable job that day and the 80,000 Twickenham crowd influenced his decision-making, the same as the Kiwi crowd at Eden Park influenced Craig Jubert’s decision in the 2011 final between the All Blacks and France.
When rugby was created by Ellis, there was no referee. The players themselves decided on the laws of the game and it was ruled by consensus. It was like how our players play touch rugby every afternoon. There is no referee, everyone enjoys the game and the rights and wrongs are decided by who makes the most noise.
Our Flying Fijians and rugby fans cried foul with certain decisions made against us in the opening match against England.
While still on it, the major decisions which changed the outcome of the game was the penalty try and yellow card to Nikola Matawalu, the change in decision by Jaco the ref regarding Matawalu’s try and the try by Bill Vunipola. The angle of the camera manipulated by the video ref which led to the decision was from behind the England player, when in fact the better angle straight down the line showed the ball had not touched the white chalk.
Nadolo’s tackle in the match against Australia was cited but what happened to that high tackle and neck grip and down throwing of Leone Nakarawa against England.
We have our own opinions on referees and in the 2011 RWC the Samoans even went as far as to call them racists because of their one sided decisions against South Pacific teams.
John Lacey of Ireland would have been branded the same by the Tongans in their loss to the All Blacks on Saturday morning after he failed to award a penalty try to Tonga but only gave a yellow card to All Black skipper Kieran Reid.
Then he awarded a yellow card to a Tongan player for a tip tackle after he had given All Black fullback Ben Smith a penalty in a tip tackle against Tongan Veanu.
There seems to be inconsistencies with the interpretation of the laws of rugby union.
But on a closer scrutiny the law makers themselves are continually changing the rugby laws in what they say is an effort to make the game safer for young players.
Take for example the law on spear tackle as explained by Wikipedia: The term “spear tackle” has been in use since at least 1995. The International Rugby Board (IRB) has ruled that a dangerous tackle of this type, sometimes also called a ‘tip tackle’, should be punished with a straight red card. An IRB memorandum on dangerous tackles from June 8, 2009 states: “At a subsequent IRB High Performance Referee Seminar at Lensbury referees were advised that for these types of tackles they were to start at red card as a sanction and work backwards.”The IRB amended the law (Law 10.4(j)), in December 2010. In the previous version of the law, the tackled player’s head or shoulders had to hit the ground first for a referee to penalise them.
The revised law removes the possibility of a spearing tackle not being penalised if the tackled player breaks their fall with their arms
The changing laws and referee inconsistencies are a part of the whole rugby confusion created when rugby moved from amateurism to professionalism.
How long this metamorphosis will carry on is anyone’s guess. The sooner they change from caterpillar to pupa then to butterfly the better.
If not rugby laws will become a continuous confusion to the millions of rugby followers of the 2015 Rugby World Cup and referees become the villains of this great sport and in the end the young players we are trying to impress will choose other less confusing sport.
If the trend continues they will be using referees with law degrees to control the game better still robots as in Robocops. In rugby they will be Roborefs.
As somebody sent a text message suggesting that we will be playing touch rugby by 2019 in Japan. So like them or hate them the referee are still a vital part of the game and the unsung heroes of rugby.
When one comes to realise that they are the judge of a fast moving, physical game and to make decisions based on their understanding and interpretation of the laws, sometimes in a matter of seconds, which only comic heroes Superman or The Flash can make.
To reduce the confusion we will be printing various parts of the rugby union laws in this column from the rugby law books to help us readers.
The rules on tackling in rugby
Tackling is the only way of legally bringing down your opponent in rugby union.
But there are certain laws on how to tackle and if these are not adhered to, penalties will follow.
When you tackle an opponent, you cannot make contact above the shoulders. This is for safety reasons.
The referee will instantly give a penalty if he sees a high tackle, and a few stronger words may follow if the challenge is deemed dangerous.
Expect a yellow card and a spell in the sin-bin or a red card and instant dismissal for more serious offences.
Other laws govern what can and cannot happen once a tackle has been made.
Going to ground
Once a player in possession of the ball has been brought to ground by a tackler, they must release the ball immediately.
They can do this either by passing off to a teammate or placing the ball on the ground.
The tackler must release the player they have just brought down and roll away from them and the ball.
If the referee believes the tackler has not rolled away quick enough, he will award a penalty to the opposition.
The same is true for the player who has been tackled.
If they do not release the ball immediately and roll away from it, they will concede a penalty.
Referees are strict on this, because players can often try to slow the ball up for the opposition, helping their side to re-group in defence.
Stealing ball in the tackle
If they are quick enough, a teammate of the tackler can pick up the ball from the contact area as long as they are on their feet.
The ruck
However as soon as a team-mate from the ball carrier’s side comes into contact with that player and the ball is still on the ground, the tackle then becomes a ruck.
None of the tackler’s teammates can attempt to handle or pick up the ball once the ruck has formed.
However they can use their strength to drive over the team in possession and attempt to win the ball.
Other laws
If a player has been tackled and their natural momentum takes them over the try-line and the ball is grounded, a try is awarded.
A player tackled near the goal-line can also reach out and attempt to touch the ball down for a try.
There are certain situations where tackles cannot be made.
If the ball carrier has been held by an opponent, but has not gone to ground, and a teammate has bound onto them, a maul is formed.
At that point a tackle cannot be made for safety reasons.
* NEXT WEEK -The Tip Tackle
