Damian Murphy an Aussie who is unfortunately at the top table now. Maybe he just had a bad game as that can happen but I also believe referees should be allowed to choose the team that assists them with the calls. Having new faces each week with different standards makes for a lottery and this mindset needs to change. Time to get the game back on track.
Over the last 20 years rugby as a sport has moved on to another level yet the officiating has been somewhat dismal. Over the last few months we have seen the Rugby Championship play out with New Zealand as victors. Did they deserve it and the answer is probably not as they got lucky with key match changing calls going their way not only in their games, but in the other matches.
It is not surprising to see coaches speaking out each week at the various officiating standards they experience. Their careers are on the line and this is extremely unfair to the players and the staff. They train to very high levels yet the weekend game could be lost on one or two calls that is down to no fault of their own.
Having been a referee and ex player I see the calls being made making for a frustrating afternoon of entertainment. There is a massive difference from someone who has never played the sport running around with the whistle. Many of the important game changing calls are incorrect.
2 weeks ago we saw a tv official literally commentating through the game calling out what he thought was discrepancies. This is not only wrong, but highly unfair on the official who is in charge. I am someone who firmly believes in calling it as you see it and the third official is only to assist on incidents off the ball. You cannot have your eyes everywhere and there will be some discretions.
The same tv official did the game this week between South Africa and Argentina yet was like a Church mouse not even squeaking when on certain occasions he should have. The difference in this match was the standard of referee was not at the same level as the week before.
Hard to imagine that both referees were deemed of international class, but the gulf between them is rather big. The way they read the game and the way they let the game flow changes the entire match.
Two weeks ago the referee in the Australia New Zealand match got a good 90% of the calls right except he missed a few crucial parts like a forward pass resulting in a try being scored. The talkative 3rd official on this occasion deemed to ignore this and look at other less important parts of the match. If your only job is to assist then do the job properly and know the rules.
The area of the scrum is a hard one to understand if you have never played in the scrum. This week we saw penalties being awarded to the wrong team as the referee didn't understand why the scrum had collapsed. This again is where the 3rd tv official should be assisting unless he doesn't know the rules himself.
We have seen similar scenarios on football when calls have been made incorrectly and have not been overturned by the VAR team. This is what is holding both sports back from getting the right decisions as that is what we all want at the end of the day. This is not too much to ask and in many ways wish I was still involved and not having to retire due to injury.
There is a call for the two white card system to be introduced for rugby where an independent referee can question a call made putting his argument forward. Each team would have 1 white card per half and believe it is the only way to improve the officiating standards. I would certainly brush up on the rule book and put my hat in the ring if this comes to fruition. The trick is calling out what is wrong and what you can win ignoring the non game changing moments looking for the really big ones. Over the last two weeks I can think of at least 6 calls missed which averages 1.5 calls per match.
New Zealand wouldn't have won the Rugby Championship this year is all I can say if the officiating had been correct. This may not seem that big a deal, but the World Cup could see a similar outcome.