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#Post#: 146858--------------------------------------------------
Re: Warren Gatland I’ve gone over to the dark side of refereeing
DIR By: JammyGit
Date: December 31, 2025, 12:03 pm
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I was being facetious, I am amused at deadly's frustration at
people not discussing what he wants them to discuss
#Post#: 146885--------------------------------------------------
Re: Warren Gatland I’ve gone over to the dark side of refereeing
DIR By: deadlyfrom5yardsout
Date: January 1, 2026, 12:23 am
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GRrrrrrrrrr!!! [emoji35][emoji35]
The first involves the breakdown. If a player is tackled and
brought to the ground – even by an ankle tackle – I think they
should be forced to release the ball and have to get back on
their feet before playing it again, even if they are not held. I
think it would speed up the game, because the tackler knows he
can release the ball-carrier straight away, then immediately
roll out of the way and get back onto his feet. Currently, there
is a bit of confusion. A tackler can hear from a referee that
the ball-carrier is not held, but then if he holds on too long,
he can be penalised for not releasing and not rolling out of the
way. Tweaking it would get rid of any confusion.
I would also make a change to simplify the 50-22 law. Currently,
a team is rewarded with the throw-in to a line-out if a player
kicks the ball from their own half and it bounces into touch
inside the opponent’s 22-metre area. It has been a really good
innovation and one that not only encourages attacking kicks but
also creates more space by forcing defenders to cover the
backfield, opening up gaps in the defensive line. I believe it
can be improved further if we scrap the law that says the 50-22
is not on if the ball is passed back into a team’s half before
the kick is made.
This causes confusion, forcing the officials to monitor where
the ruck was formed and where the pass was made. It also allows
the defending side to leave the backfield free as soon as they
see the ball has passed the halfway line, denying the attacking
side the extra space. Let’s make it simpler for the players,
referees and fans. If a player is inside his own half, the 50-22
is on, which would keep the defence on their toes and force them
to sit back hopefully for longer.
Speeding the game up is something that World Rugby and the
referees are working hard on. Last year, they introduced the
60-second limit for kicking penalties and conversions, and
scrums and line-outs are restricted to a 30-second set-up. And
yet the directive to do away with escorts to make the aerial
contest a fairer one has led to handling errors and scrums, and
sometimes these can lead to delays when they are reset.
We have also seen the television match official (TMO) reviews
leading to two or three-minute delays as they go through replay
after replay. I think if a referee is convinced an offence is at
least a yellow card, and he is having to view different angles
as he is not quite sure, I would suggest just showing a yellow
card and put the decision to the bunker straight away, so we can
get on with the game. Everyone wants the right decision, but in
the pursuit of perfection, there can be too many delays.
Interestingly, when it comes to overall TMO interventions, the
stats show there are much fewer than I expected. They are mainly
involved only in the big decisions. It is not the easiest thing
to do because if a TMO is reviewing an incident, he is not able
to look at the real-time footage. It makes it important to have
two people in the box, one who can review foul play, which they
have at the highest level.
Coaches and players should take more responsibility. We have
increasingly seen players who experience some head contact being
encouraged to stay down, like we have seen in football. This
ensures there is a stoppage in play and then the TMO can review
the incident and maybe a yellow card will be shown to their
opponent. The consequences can be significant, but I would like
to think that there is a responsibility for the players not to
go down if they are not injured. This can also apply to players
going down injured to rest and have a break.
[emoji12][emoji6]
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