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The Scottish Premier League referees are going on strike this Saturday - ostensibly it seems to protest against pressure / abuse from clubs and their managers. The SFA, for whom they work, has expressed some sympathy for their plight but also threatened to "bus in" referes from Wales and Ireland...

OK, so doing U17 blue v red on Friday evening. Fast, furious stuff from both sides for top slot in the league. Usual amount of testosterone knocking around but managing to keep a lid on it. Blue eventually squeeze a 19-18 win. 10 minutes from the end of the 1st half red attacking. Breakdown...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/8616713.stm Interesting bit of news. Also interesting that they newly appointed testing company will also be policing grass roots rugby.

One of the contexts in which we use judgement is the skill level of the players. The better the players, the greater the assumption that what they are doing is done on purpose rather than because of ineptitude. I'm assuming there's not much to dispute there. OK, the games I often get pit teams...

I did a game on Saturday. Unremarkable other than the heaviness of the pitch, the error count on both sides (the ball appeared to be made of red-hot soap) and the fact that the home team stuffed their visitors like a Christmas Turkey. Cards marked as per scoreline,all goods from the victors and...

As I understand it, squeezeball is outlawed at any age-group below U18. What's the guidance when doing school representative matches where U17s and U18s are mixed (lower and upper sixth formers)? When I've done those matches in the past I've just blown squeezeball when I've seen it on the "if in...

I had the great pleasure of attending a rugby dinner on Friday where the guest speaker was Ian McGeechan. He was very balanced and thoughtful in what he said about the game and certainly he is a voice that's worth listening to. I asked him whichlaw, if he could, he would change to improve the...

After my game today - which was hot, fast and not without incident - I was enjoying a well earned shandy (driving not southern poovery for you northern types :wink: ) and nattering with the home manager. We were talking about the boundaries of comment that refs set for post match chats. I was...

Does anyone have a form for post match self-assessment? I want to keep a log of games for the forthcoming season and a structured log of matches would be helpful. Cheers

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/my_club/worcester/8128656.stm Interesting - thinks his front row experience will be of value - which is hard to dispute. I'm assuming, if he starts out at the bottom, he's in for a rude awakening about the general cr*pness of the rugby he encounters!! :)

Folks - As per my current grade I ref at a fairly lowly level. Kicking points from penalties doesn't feature high on the list of frequent features. Think banjoes and barn doors. However, at higher levels the range and angle at which teams can be reasonably certain of kicking points increases...

You may have seen that BM has launched a petition in the Telegraph to encourage enforcement of the straight put-in at scrum time. "We the undersigned demand that the International Rugby Board mandate all referees to properly apply Law 20.6d requiring a scrum-half to feed the ball in the scum...

A while ago a fellow referee told me he uses a smaller / higher pitched whistle for youth games than his normal thunderer for adults. He reasoned that youngsters have a wider range of audible sound and react quicker to sharp peeps on a smaller whistle. He warned me never to use the high pitch...

Good telly it certainly was, but whether it was a good way to settle a Heineken Cup semi is moot. I felt very sorry for Cardiff on Sunday - what a terrible way to lose and, as Murphy said, what a terrible way to win. Personally I think the golden score in extra extra time might be a fairer...

I've just come off the back of two consecutive Sundays reffing at large mini/midi festivals and wanted to share my experience / garner comments on maul management. I find that children offer and take contact very differently to mature / well coached players (there are always exceptions, but I...

We hear these with disturbing regularity: Got to let the player get up But I was on my feet!!!! null What other urban myths / popular misconceptions do you hear regularly?

Society here has a scarcity of games at my level (13+1) so I'm without a game this weekend. If anyone needs a ref at my level on Saturday / Sunday let me know. South of England only (I'm based in Surrey). Thanks!:)

Blue v Red junior (U15) game - under decent control but both sides getting under each other's skins a bit and a bit of less than gentlemanly verbal sniping about which both sides have been sternly warned. Blue scores a try about 15m in from touch. Blue 12 (one of the main protagonists in the...

I know this isn't strictly about reffing but...... Anyone know of any clubs in SE England planning a 7s gig over Easter or md0May that might have space for an U15s team? Private message if you wish. Cheers

I'm a relatively new ref. One of the things I have noticed is that I miss stuff on the wings when the ball moves quickly from a breakdown. Say there's a breakdown midfield. Ball is flicked out by the s/h through the backs and arrives on the wing 10+ metres over the gain line. I've found that...