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2019 Rugby World Cup

Refs Under Fire As RWC Starts

Refs Under Fire As RWC Starts

Refereeing is under fire for being inconsistent and possibly dangerous.

Sep 24, 2019 by Alex Goff
Four Simple Things To Fix In Officiating
Four (Somewhat) Simple Things To Fix In Officiating1:21

Rugby observers around the world are getting annoyed at how the Rugby World Cup is being officiated.

While some of the complaints are about one specific team or one specific game, overall what has people riled is consistency in following the laws.

There's the ruck. Key within the ruck is the gate — the point through which a player can join the ruck. This has always been and should always be from your team's side of the ball, from directly behind where the ball is.

However, many have seen blatant in-from-the-side infractions let go. Here's former England sevens and current Fiji sevens head coach Ben Ryan:

And his observation is backed up by English rugby pundit David Flatman.

And World Rugby agrees. In a startling statement, the sport's governing body concurred with the criticism.

Following the usual review of matches, the match officials team recognise that performances over the opening weekend of Rugby World Cup 2019 were not consistently of the standards set by World Rugby and themselves, but World Rugby is confident of the highest standards of officiating moving forward.

Elite match officials are required to make decisions in complex, high-pressure situations and there have been initial challenges with the use of technology and team communication, which have impacted decision-making. These are already being addressed by the team of 23 match officials to enhance consistency. 

Given this proactive approach, a strong team ethic and a superb support structure, World Rugby has every confidence in the team to ensure that Rugby World Cup 2019 delivers the highest levels of accurate, clear and consistent decision-making.

Wow. And it's important to note the concern isn't necessarily about one team being hit hard by a call (or non-call) and another let off, it's about safety.

The free-for-all in the rucks is starting to get dangerous. But allowing players to go lower and lower, and not even policing offside, referees are making it so players come flying in, and basically roll-tackle the opposition instead of driving the opposition gack.

But that's not all. All Blacks captain Kieran Read was not penalized for this off-the-ball play against South Africa, and fans are wondering where the assistant referees are, and whether allowing all of that will produce some kind of on-field anarchy. 

Irish rugby legend Brian O'Driscoll's point is well-taken. The game will be more fun to watch if its laws are enforced.

Some other fans had a long list of injustices in the New Zealand vs South Africa game, and it's also worth pointing out that France was given carte blanche to be offside for much of Les Bleus' opener against Argentina.

But even obvious stuff right in front of the referee seems to get a pass.

The call, then, is for following the laws, and the implication is that if referees are letting some things go, will they be consistent? Or will they, as we have seen so often, deal with an infraction with a shrug for one team, and a harsh penalty for a less-established team that does the same thing?