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#Post#: 152660--------------------------------------------------
Have Quins lost the plot on modern refereeing?
DIR By: poorfour
Date: April 9, 2026, 11:52 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Reflecting on the Sale game but also on the season as a whole,
I’m wondering if Quins have just failed to get the memo that
everyone else has about how the breakdown is refereed.
Throughout the season, we’ve seen countless examples of
opponents doing things that are, by the letter of the law,
penalty offences with no sanction.
This isn’t just me in my quartered specs - diving back over a
ruck from the wrong side, hanging around in the way of the scrum
half, entering a ruck parallel to the touchline and stepping in
from the side of the hindmost player (all of which we have seen
repeatedly this season) do not meet the requirements of the Laws
15.4 Each team has an offside line that runs parallel to the
try line through the hindmost point of any ruck participant. If
that point is on or behind the try line, the offside line for
that team is the try line.
15.5 An arriving player must be on their feet and join from
behind their offside line.
15.6 A player may join alongside but not in front of the
hindmost player.
15.7 A player must bind onto a team-mate or an opposition
player. The bind must precede or be simultaneous with contact
with any other part of the body.
15.8 Players must join the ruck or retire behind their offside
line immediately.
Most of the teams we’ve played this year - in both Prem and PWR
- seem to ignore 15.4 and 15.5 with impunity. Quins’ ruck entry,
on the other hand, generally seems to comply with Law 15, but we
still often rack up a higher penalty count than our opponents.
Which makes me wonder, are we just not streetwise enough? Has
the game moved on and we have just not kept pace? And will
hiring a forwards coach from Exeter (who to my eyes have
pioneered this change in approach along with Sale) help us fix
it?
#Post#: 152664--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Quins lost the plot on modern refereeing?
DIR By: Rugbycat
Date: April 9, 2026, 12:40 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: poorfour link ---
>
> Reflecting on the Sale game but also on the season as a whole,
I’m wondering if Quins have just failed to get the memo that
everyone else has about how the breakdown is refereed.
>
> Throughout the season, we’ve seen countless examples of
opponents doing things that are, by the letter of the law,
penalty offences with no sanction.
>
> This isn’t just me in my quartered specs - diving back over a
ruck from the wrong side, hanging around in the way of the scrum
half, entering a ruck parallel to the touchline and stepping in
from the side of the hindmost player (all of which we have seen
repeatedly this season) do not meet the requirements of the Laws
>
> 15.4 Each team has an offside line that runs parallel to the
try line through the hindmost point of any ruck participant. If
that point is on or behind the try line, the offside line for
that team is the try line.
>
> 15.5 An arriving player must be on their feet and join from
behind their offside line.
>
> 15.6 A player may join alongside but not in front of the
hindmost player.
>
> 15.7 A player must bind onto a team-mate or an opposition
player. The bind must precede or be simultaneous with contact
with any other part of the body.
>
> 15.8 Players must join the ruck or retire behind their offside
line immediately.
>
> Most of the teams we’ve played this year - in both Prem and
PWR - seem to ignore 15.4 and 15.5 with impunity. Quins’ ruck
entry, on the other hand, generally seems to comply with Law 15,
but we still often rack up a higher penalty count than our
opponents.
>
> Which makes me wonder, are we just not streetwise enough? Has
the game moved on and we have just not kept pace? And will
hiring a forwards coach from Exeter (who to my eyes have
pioneered this change in approach along with Sale) help us fix
it?
>
--- End Quote ---
The game seems to rely on what the referees are told to do, at
the start of each tournament or league season, much at the
moment seems to be around fast play of the ball, and each
country seems to focus on different things.
In France the ball is being put in to the hooker and contests
are allowed in scrums. the breakdown is different in the SH.
Every game players need to adjust to the referee and how he sees
the Laws, and how he has been instructed to apply the laws,
there are lots of different streets to be wise about.
#Post#: 152666--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Quins lost the plot on modern refereeing?
DIR By: Quinto
Date: April 9, 2026, 1:33 pm
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Quins just aren’t very good. No amount of referee slating will
change that.
#Post#: 152669--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Quins lost the plot on modern refereeing?
DIR By: MaidstoneQuin
Date: April 9, 2026, 2:07 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
To be honest I don’t think it’s a case we’ve just not moved on
with the rules and playing differently around the breakdown. I
think he’s just a case that as mentioned Quins simply aren’t in
the game mentally and are playing poor rugby, and that extra
2-3% off your game is probably the brain farts that have led to
our ridiculously high penalty count
#Post#: 152670--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Quins lost the plot on modern refereeing?
DIR By: JammyGit
Date: April 9, 2026, 2:12 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
You're having a laugh if you think we're not also doing illegal
stuff. We're just relatively bad at knowing what we can get away
with and how. This is absolutely a case of Quins tinted specs,
because you bang this drum on almost every match thread and it's
very rarely matching reality
#Post#: 152673--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Quins lost the plot on modern refereeing?
DIR By: Mayor West
Date: April 9, 2026, 2:34 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
I don’t think you can ignore the fact that the ref had an
influence on the outcome of our last game. I can’t remember the
last time the crowd were so vocal and loud in their displeasure
with his decisions. Many proven wrong or harsh on review. So
it’s not only a couple of us. When you win it doesn’t matter.
Our penalty count often kills us and the players must learn how
to adapt more quickly. It can’t possibly be just us that the
officials don’t like as I see it in other games where you wonder
what they’ve done to offend the ref. Are we in some way getting
on the wrong side of sir with the way he is spoken to or
constantly nagging at them. I don’t know what our penalty stats
are, maybe someone knows, but that would indicate a problem if
much higher than average.
#Post#: 152675--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Quins lost the plot on modern refereeing?
DIR By: RodneyRegis
Date: April 9, 2026, 2:55 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: poorfour link ---
>
> Reflecting on the Sale game but also on the season as a whole,
I’m wondering if Quins have just failed to get the memo that
everyone else has about how the breakdown is refereed.
>
> Throughout the season, we’ve seen countless examples of
opponents doing things that are, by the letter of the law,
penalty offences with no sanction.
>
> This isn’t just me in my quartered specs - diving back over a
ruck from the wrong side, hanging around in the way of the scrum
half, entering a ruck parallel to the touchline and stepping in
from the side of the hindmost player (all of which we have seen
repeatedly this season) do not meet the requirements of the Laws
>
> 15.4 Each team has an offside line that runs parallel to the
try line through the hindmost point of any ruck participant. If
that point is on or behind the try line, the offside line for
that team is the try line.
>
> 15.5 An arriving player must be on their feet and join from
behind their offside line.
>
> 15.6 A player may join alongside but not in front of the
hindmost player.
>
> 15.7 A player must bind onto a team-mate or an opposition
player. The bind must precede or be simultaneous with contact
with any other part of the body.
>
> 15.8 Players must join the ruck or retire behind their offside
line immediately.
>
> Most of the teams we’ve played this year - in both Prem and
PWR - seem to ignore 15.4 and 15.5 with impunity. Quins’ ruck
entry, on the other hand, generally seems to comply with Law 15,
but we still often rack up a higher penalty count than our
opponents.
>
> Which makes me wonder, are we just not streetwise enough? Has
the game moved on and we have just not kept pace? And will
hiring a forwards coach from Exeter (who to my eyes have
pioneered this change in approach along with Sale) help us fix
it?
>
--- End Quote ---
I'd suggest the common denominator here is other teams not being
quins and therefore you just noticing their indiscretions.
#Post#: 152676--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Quins lost the plot on modern refereeing?
DIR By: RodneyRegis
Date: April 9, 2026, 2:56 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Mayor West link ---
>
> I don’t think you can ignore the fact that the ref had an
influence on the outcome of our last game. I can’t remember the
last time the crowd were so vocal and loud in their displeasure
with his decisions. Many proven wrong or harsh on review. So
it’s not only a couple of us. When you win it doesn’t matter.
Our penalty count often kills us and the players must learn how
to adapt more quickly. It can’t possibly be just us that the
officials don’t like as I see it in other games where you wonder
what they’ve done to offend the ref. Are we in some way getting
on the wrong side of sir with the way he is spoken to or
constantly nagging at them. I don’t know what our penalty stats
are, maybe someone knows, but that would indicate a problem if
much higher than average.
>
--- End Quote ---
he was just a bad ref. It wasn't us not being streetwise.
#Post#: 152677--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Quins lost the plot on modern refereeing?
DIR By: Camquin
Date: April 9, 2026, 5:58 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
All rugby fans have astigmatism, as all their passes are
backwards, while all their opponents are forwards.
Also, their players are always onside - and the opposition are
always offside.
Having said that.
Top level referees do ignore half the laws.
From feeds in the scrum to hookers not standing in the field of
play.
And most of the laws round the breakdown.
And I could except that, if the IRB rewrote the law book.
But it does not
And to my mind it is telling that they have a graphic designer,
but not an editor.
#Post#: 152680--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Quins lost the plot on modern refereeing?
DIR By: never sleep
Date: April 10, 2026, 3:14 am
---------------------------------------------------------
One thing that Dommers doesn't seem to do very often is to ask
Sir for specifics of why the decision was given. (I don't know
if other captains of other teams do this or not.)
But, if Sir pings for something and you don't agree with the
decision, then you should ask Sir to explain a little bit about
what he saw or what he was expecting. Then you can act on it and
not do it again.
It seems as though Quins often get pinged for exactly to same
infringement multiple times. Clearly, the players think that
they are playing according to the laws and they just shrug it
off and do the same thing again and get pinged again.
But if the Captain talks to Sir and understands their viewpoint,
then they can tell the players to change their behaviour.
E.g. the ref is always viewing the breakdown from a completely
different angle to the players and will see things differently.
Basically, Sir is always right. So, you have to adjust your
behaviour to match his expectations, and the first point is you
need to understand what his expectations are.
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