Pre Match Brief

[crossref]

In truth given that this requirement is not written down anywhere, it can hardly be said to be 'enshrined" here either.

If you start your referee career in England with the national training course we do, you will be told to rehearse CBS in every PMB.

But you don't need to have done that course in order to be a referee in England (you might have qualified in Wales, or Scotland, or in new Zealand or south Africa. Or thirty years ago I'm England when the course was different)

And, if, as a foreign referee you came over here for the RWC next week, and get offered a game by a society here, you won't be given any bit of paper or any other instructions telling you the local PMB requirements. So its evidently not completely critical.

 

[Taff]

... Also "under promising and over delivering" on that is a lot easier than telling the teams you are going FK *this* and PK *that* and then not delivering on that. You lose a lot of credibility by doing that.

Whose promising anything? I just explain how the scrum engagement will be done. There's no mention of FKs or PKs.

... And, if, as a foreign referee you came over here for the RWC next week, and get offered a game by a society here, you won't be given any bit of paper or any other instructions telling you the local PMB requirements. So its evidently not completely critical.

And if some poor sod breaks his neck at a scrum (it happened to a mate of mine; he's still in a wheelchair 25 years on) when the legal eagles get their teeth into it, the Ref can explain to the court why he didn't think it was necessary. It would be interesting to see what the US rugby boys are required to do - given it's such a litigious country.

 

[TigerCraig]

Whose promising anything? I just explain how the scrum engagement will be done. There's no mention of FKs or PKs.


And if some poor sod breaks his neck at a scrum (it happened to a mate of mine; he's still in a wheelchair 25 years on) when the legal eagles get their teeth into it, the Ref can explain to the court why he didn't think it was necessary. It would be interesting to see what the US rugby boys are required to do - given it's such a litigious country.

CBS is written into the Laws. I think anyone can reasonably expect that any one playing the game should be conversant with the Laws (if they aren't that is their own fault). As the club has said that by playing they are STE for the position then that is reinforcing that they have the knowledge.

Pre-match in my opinion should only cover things that aren't black & white law.

The only thing we have to say in our pre-match is "Do you understand the Mayday procedure", and then only in juniors, but I do it in seniors as well.

PS. "Mayday" is the emergency call used here if a scrum collapses, and has a set protocol to follow if it happens.

PPS, credit to the coaches of Leeds Grammar, when I refereed their tour match I asked the boys about it in my prematch, and they had been made aware of it and knew what to do if it occurred