Andre Watson answers some questions

It’s been a hard time for referees lately, but SARU’s Refereeing Manager, André Watson, has never been one to shy away when the going gets tough. This week, he answers readers’ questions in BOKzine.

SA Rugby

Question Good Day Mr. Watson. Are we playing different rules from the ones that applied in the 2010 Super 14? I fail to see how the SA Super14 teams dominated the breakdowns and all of a sudden we are nowhere to be found when it comes to contesting the ball in the tests? We are blown off the park when we compete and the other teams seem to get away with what we are penalised for? In your opinion are we playing differently at the breakdown or has the interpretation by the refs changed? Roderique Lategan

André answers: Hi Roderique. In short, no sir the laws have not changed, it is exactly the same as for the Vodacom Super 14 played earlier in the season. The referees word wide is attempting to referee the Big 5 of which the breakdown is one. One must always remember that the referee has the discretion (by Law) to determine whether an infringement has an effect on the play at that time. It is fair to say that referees get it wrong at times and hence the confusion. One should not get confused by referee errors versus interpretation. I am confident that the SA team will address this and look forward in seeing them making us proud here in SA in the remainder of the Vodacom Tri-Nations. I am also confident that the referees will address this matter and improve the accuracy of decisions in accordance with the laws.

Question: I would very much appreciate your explaining the citing rule to me. I always believed that if a player was yellow/red carded on the field that he could not be cited after the match. However, I must be wrong, because both Jaque Fourie and Qwade Cooper were yellow cared during the match, yet both were cited after the match. Would you please explain this ruling. Huby Thorndike

André answers:Hi Huby, you are partly correct, allow me to explain. A citing can only be done if the citing commissioner believes the infringement should have been sanctioned by means of a red card. In other words an infringement that warrants a yellow card only, cannot be cited. In the case of Fourie and Cooper, the bottom line is that the yellow card was not sufficient as the infringement warranted a red card. Where you are incorrect is when you state that once a player is yellow carded, then he cannot be cited. Compare this with when a player is not sanctioned at all, but the infringement warranted a red card. I trust this clarifies the matter for you.

Question: I am just one of a few people who wonder why a Southern Hemisphere comp uses Northern Hemisphere refs who don’t even use the new laws in their comps in the north? And why with the “dangerous tackle” which Jaque Fourie gave he wasn’t given a warning or a penalty against him like the law states it should be? And why did the refs give Richie McCaw so many warnings and then he was told it is his final warning and then he still got warnings after that but the Springboks got yellow carded straight away? Are the refs even up to date about what the laws are and how they should be interpreted and the Northern Hemisphere refs have no consistancy at all, not even a little consistancy! Micheal

André answers: Hi Micheal, you ask various questions and I will endeavour to answer them all in a chronological way:
The referees are appointed for Vodacom Tri-Nations by the IRB. They use only the top 8 in the world of which SA has 3 and NZ 1. That’s all for the Southern hemisphere. The reality is that our three referees all referee in the Tri-Nations but cannot referee SA. The other 4 referees are all from the Northern hemisphere and considered in the top 8 in the world. So, we are actually given the very best referees available. You are not correct in stating that they do not play the ‘new laws’ in the North. The whole world is playing exactly the same laws in 2010. E.g. SA referees refereed 4 Six-Nation games earlier in the year.
With regards your question as to why Fourie was not warned but yellow carded straight away: there are no warnings for foul play infringements. Warnings are only given to individual players who infringe the laws repeatedly and/or to teams who infringe a law repeatedly.
Regarding the warnings to Richie Mc Caw: he may have been somewhat fortunate in the second test against the Boks, in fact I read recently that he said so himself. An interesting fact that you need to know is that referees ‘re- calibrate’ their warnings during a match. Let me explain as follows: say team red concedes multiple penalties while desperately trying to defend their goal line, and the referee warns them. Then if the infringe again shortly thereafter, the referee will card a player. However, if the team responds and do not infringe negatively for a while, then the referee will ‘re-calibrate’, and in effect wipe the sheet clean again. So, I want to make it very clear that should say team white receive a general warning in the 10th minute and they respond, they will not necessarily receive a card if they again infringe in the 55th minute.
I can assure you that the referee are very much up to date with the laws, it does not guarantee however, that they wont make mistakes.

Question: Yesterday it was broadcast on News 24 amongst others where Richy McCaw admitted to cheating against the Boks during the two tests they played during the Tri-Nations. Now I recall the ref awarding 5 penalties against him and warning him twice. What disciplinary measures are in place to ensure that a ref steps up to the mark and blows a fair game? James Pitout

André answers: Hi James. The referee that refereed is an IRB panel referee and this question should actually be addressed to the IRB Referee manager. However, I know that when referees under perform, they are spoken to, taken to task and even removed from future appointments.

Question: The recent performances by the Irish refs beg the question, they are the ones that set the standard for the game e.g. if Rousseaux ‘prod’ with the boot is worthy of a yellow card then that is the standard he set and he must use that standard for the rest of the game. Rangers dangerous tackle with no arms is way worse than the prod and therefore deserved a yellow!
If BJ falling over the ball is a yellow then Pococks consistent infringements in the red zone is as well .Botha’s yellow in the 10th minute was the standard Lewis set then McCaws consistent infringements should have resulted in a yellow instead of the Warning, Final warning etc …in both cases Paddy O’Brien has given them good ratings!! Tip tackles are becoming a farce because of the inconsistencies applied…Coopers drove Steyn into the ground which was intentional and dangerous but only results in a 2 week ban?? The refs seem to think that they are untouchable…they are highly paid officials who need to be held accountable…are they?? Your views would make interesting reading. I Lamont.

André answers: Hi. Your first sentence is 100% correct in that referee set the standard in a game regarding foul play. Your point is valid and the comparison fair. I may just throw a spanner in the works in stating that many will disagree that Ranger’s tackle warranted a yellow card. That is exactly the dilemma in that refrees and AR’s are to make the judgment call at normal pace and do not have replays like you and I have. They make mistakes and hence the citing system. Ranger was not cited which implies that when people revisited the incident they did not believe a warranted a red card. In saying that, if the referee carded ranger, not many would have complained. I agree with your view on the comparison between the two incidents of Botha and Pocock mentioned.
With regards the tip tackle incident of Cooper, I am not part of the judicial system, but do know that he received the stipulated sentence, but the fact that this was his first appearance in front of a judicial hearing was a mitigating factor. Whereas Fourie had been found guilty of a similar offence just last year.
I can assure that referees are being held accountable and there are various examples of referes being removed from appointments due to performance issues. I was a referee sir, and I can assure you made many mistakes and had some bad performances, but I never thought that I was untouchable! For that the game is just too great.

Question: Law “interpretations” are a major problem and the inconsistencies lately have lead to great anger, not only in fans but I’d suggest in players, too. My question – why does the IRB not implement a “post mortem” review of the game the next day where the ref sits with the captain and coach of the team and they watch the game together. Refs can then indicate why they made the decisions they made, players/coaches can query and better understand, and maybe they can also indicate why Richie McCaw should be penalized to death! Thanks, Dennis.

André answers: Hi Dennis, there is in fact a post mortem system. In brief it works as follows: match reviewers are appointed to review every decision made in the game in a forensic way. This info is given to the referee and if it was bad performance, he is sanctioned. Over and above this, the team management (coach, technical analyst and Captain compiles a team report and then sends it to the Referee manager who comments and passes the info on to the relevant referee. In addition, the team coach may call or email the referee and discuss the performance with him directly.

Question: Hi Mr Watson. The irregularities and inconsistencies portrayed by the international referees has been a point of contention recently. We all know that these refs are well equipped to control a game at any level and anywhere. Is the pressure placed on these refs by the hosting nation, players and public not having an influence on their decisions. Are they mature enough do deal with the pressure. Don’t you think that part of the referees training should be his/her ability to make decisions that are not influenced by outside factors. After all , at any given moment on the field the law could identify more than one infringement, but the refs are inclined to select the offence that suits the occasion. Regards, Daniel Louw.

André answers: Hi Daniel, a very good question and I suppose my answer can be interpreted either way. These referees can handle the pressure (AND IT IS IMMENSE – BELIEVE ME) AND IF THEY CANNOT, THEY SHOULD NOT REFEREE. In my personal capacity, when I refereed I saw for example a red and a white team and refereed what is saw. I never allowed outside influences to enter my brain train (thoughts). For example, I grew up in the Transvaal, studied in Stellenbosch, married a girl that studied in Pretoria, etc. does that mean I will be biased to these provinces? No, I never bothered about these things. But most importantly, the game is so fast with an average of 600 plus incidents condensed in to a 80 minute game that the referee need to judge as correct or incorrect, that there is no time to think and one just calls it as you see it.

Tags: Andre Watson, Rugby Union Referees