6 Weeks for pushing ref

[collybs]

Kieren Brookes has been suspended for six weeks for pushing Greg Garner, To me this seems far too little.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/26444392
Newcastle Falcons prop Kieran Brookes has been suspended for six weeks for pushing a referee.

The 23-year-old was cited for "physical abuse" of Greg Garner in Sunday's 41-18 home defeat by Leicester Tigers.

Brookes admitted acting contrary to good sportsmanship at a Rugby Football Union (RFU) disciplinary hearing.

He will be free to play again on 21 April, meaning he will be available for Newcastle's final two Premiership matches.

The Falcons finish their campaign against London Wasps (away 3 May) and Exeter Chiefs (home 10 May).

Newcastle remained one place off the foot of the Premiership table after Sunday's loss to Leicester at Kingston Park.

 

[Chogan]

Kieran Brookes pushes Greg Garner

Brookes has received 6 weeks for a push apparently.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/rugby/brookes-banned-over-referee-push-30062807.html

I was wondering if anyone had a clip of the incident?

 

[Drift]

How bad was the push? 6 weeks seems light.

 

[Drift]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZXrcEwKm1E

Video of the incident there.

 

[Ian_Cook]

I feel sorry for Brookes. What else is he supposed to do.

This looks to me like yet another example of very poor positioning by the referee, and then compounding of the error by running into an even worse position.

No referee has any business running into "Route 1" around the open side of a ruck, because they are just asking to get clobbered.

Just look where he is standing relative to the yawning gap between the Black openside pillar
and Black 3. Any one of my U13 kids could look at that and tell you exactly what the next play
would be (a short pass to a runner coming back on the angle towards that gap).

So what does this genius do.....

....he runs into that very same gap!

What the hell was he thinking?

 

[talbazar]

I'm with you Ian on this.
If Brookes doesn't contact with the ref, he will never know he (the ref) was in a horrible position.
Now, it looks like Brookes deliberately tried to push the ref onto the ball carrier. Might be a bit too much...

 

[Simon Thomas]

My soapbox topic, as a number of South West Group referees know all too well :biggrin:- referee's backing into the defensive line like that are taking a lazy short cut, stay on the attacking back foot, but if in rare circumstances you have to back in go 2-3 metres behind the defensive line !

In this case GG backs directly into the channel between the ruck guard and #3 - exactly where the ball carrier will run with about as much pre-indication as you can get.

My sympathy is with the player, it was say light shove and GG was like a wet paper bag compared to WB's strength with Brits the other week . The 6 weeks is harsh IMHO and is in itself a low sanction reflecting the view of the disciplinary committee.

 

[Simon Thomas]

Re: Kieran Brookes pushes Greg Garner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZXrcEwKm1E

Video of the incident there.

Already a thread on this

 

[FlipFlop]

GG manages to back into the gap, and then stops on the defensive line. Horrible positioning, and have no idea what he was thinking, what benefit he thought he could get from there. Crazy.

Don't condone pushing a ref, but the player had little options available to him.

The only think I can think of to defend GG is that perhaps he thought the defensive line would advance on the attack to try and make the tackle behind the gain line, but instead they stood still and waited for the attack to come to them.

To be honest 6 weeks is too much, and GG should spend some time at lower levels to sort out his positioning. Would be a fair balancing of the equation.

 

[Blue Smartie]

Bad positioning or not, there has just been a thread about a three year ban for pushing a ref. Say Greg gets his leg caught and breaks his leg / ruptures his ligaments?

So the ref gets his positioning wrong - it happens at all levels - but it doesn't give players a right to give you a shove in the back

http://www.rugbyrefs.com/showthread.php?17333-3-year-ban-for-pushing-the-ref-over

 

[Na Madrai]

I feel that I could be battimg alone here but any deliberate contact with the referee - and this is as clear as clear can be, a two handed push into the referee's back - must be dealt with severely. In my opinion, the player received too lenient a punishment.

I concur, the referee moved into a very poor position, but who amongst has not done similiar? The burden must always be on the player to avoid the referee.

Once we open Pandora's box ..........

NM

Sorry, Blue Smartie, comments crossed.

 

[Toby Warren]

So let's get this straight ref gets into a bad position - it's OK for a player to push him to the ground (and in fact try and fire him at the ball carrier). :wtf:

I am amazed at that POV.

What next let's allow player's to stamp players on the wrong side?

GG Was in the wrong place, that needs addressing no doubt - but not by pushing him.

 

[Daftmedic]

It was a catalyst of errors on both parts resulting in a hot headed rash action due to frustration I'm sure the ref has been educated by the match observers on it an IMHO a justified sanction against the player.

 

[oldman]

I would suggest that Brooks is pushing GG to try and push him into the Leicester player with the ball.

 

[crossref]

there are ways a player can communicate to the referee that his positioning is rubbish, short of pushing him over...

 

[Dixie]

My soapbox topic, - referee's backing into the defensive line.

My soapbox topic - the grocers' apostrophe - particularly when executed by middle-class professionals who should know better. A 6-week ban from the forum is too light, IMO. It sets a poor example for others to follow

What next let's allow player's to stamp players on the wrong side?

 

[crossref]

isn't it The grocer's apostrophe?

(i think that grocer is singular there : if the problem had started in the fireservice we'd be talking about the fireman's apostrophe, not the firemen's)

 

[Chogan]

Re: Kieran Brookes pushes Greg Garner

Thanks Simon,
Both threads were started within 2 or 3 minutes of each other

 

[Biropen]

Re: Kieran Brookes pushes Greg Garner

Very very harsh

 

[Ian_Cook]

Bad positioning or not, there has just been a thread about a three year ban for pushing a ref. Say Greg gets his leg caught and breaks his leg / ruptures his ligaments?

So the ref gets his positioning wrong - it happens at all levels - but it doesn't give players a right to give you a shove in the back

http://www.rugbyrefs.com/showthread.php?17333-3-year-ban-for-pushing-the-ref-over

I feel that I could be battimg alone here but any deliberate contact with the referee - and this is as clear as clear can be, a two handed push into the referee's back - must be dealt with severely. In my opinion, the player received too lenient a punishment.

I concur, the referee moved into a very poor position, but who amongst has not done similiar? The burden must always be on the player to avoid the referee.

Once we open Pandora's box ..........

NM

Sorry, Blue Smartie, comments crossed.

So let's get this straight ref gets into a bad position - it's OK for a player to push him to the ground (and in fact try and fire him at the ball carrier). :wtf:

I am amazed at that POV.

What next let's allow player's to stamp players on the wrong side?

GG Was in the wrong place, that needs addressing no doubt - but not by pushing him.

I'm not saying that it was OK for Brooks to push the referee like that. He was wrong to do what he did. However, I am saying that he was unfortunate to have been put in that position in the first place, and the fact that he was, is entirely down to the referee!.

The root cause of all this was not just an unlucky referee slightly out of position, it was an elite referee so badly out of position that it borders on negligent. Never, never, never get yourself in a position where you are stationary and flat-footed in line with the defenders on their ruck or maul offside line. If you do, then you are almost certain to get in the way, particularly if you have chosen to position yourself in a big gap just next to the ruck. As an elite referee, he ought to have known better than that.

I have said before on this forum and I repeat it here. IMO, referees in the modern game stand too close the tackle/ruck/maul. When you stand too close, you are disadvantaged in two ways

1. Your field of view is cut down.
The closer you are to the TRM, the more of what happens in and around the TRM will fall outside your central vision, into the area of your peripheral vision. Effectively, the closer you are, the less you see!

2. Your response time is cut down.
The closer you are to the ruck, the less time you have to act if something unexpected happens.

Rugby is the players' game, not ours. We are there to adjudicate and facilitate their game. IMO, there are far too many referees who forget this!