1. Coaches know the Lawbook inside out;
2. Coaches never make mistakes;
3. Coaches are entirely disinterested when talking about the refereeing of their own teams.
I think that should read "when country X doesn't win, country X's press assassinates the ref"; it's not unknown for even the English press to blame the ref when things don't go England's way. Admittedly that only happens when the ref is clearly in the wrong...:biggrin:
I think that should read "when country X doesn't win, country X's press assassinates the ref"; it's not unknown for even the English press to blame the ref when things don't go England's way. Admittedly that only happens when the ref is clearly in the wrong...:biggrin:
There was the 2011 World Cup quarter-final between Australia and South Africa.
A poor refereeing display which put the All Blacks against Australia rather than South Africa, one that was always going to work in the All Blacks' favour
There was also the World Cup final; even Kiwis can't deny they enjoyed a fair degree of leniency in that.
Again, inferring the the referee erred in the All Blacks's favour
Last year's test against South Africa at Eden Park was ruined by a horrid decision by Romain Poite to yellow-card Bismarck du Plessis for a legal tackle
Again, a comment about how the All Blacks opponents were very hard done by.
The two yellow cards to Beauden Barrett and Wyatt Crockett were not hard to understand
A comment that shows the referee was probably right to card both of them
Gregor Paul specifically did NOT mention Wayne Barnes' abysmal performance in the 2007 quarter final.
The issue if have with Browner's idiotic comments Toby that the context and tone of the article is the exact opposite of what he said, a fact that could have been gleaned by the simple expedient of actually reading the article.
Anyone who thinks that the standard of refereeing at the top (test) level is just fine is living in cloud cuckoo land. There are a couple of very good referees (Owens, Joubert, perhaps Walsh), then there is a huge daylight gap to the next lot. They are generally too slow around the park, too slow to react to what they see and the interpretations are so widespread from referee to referee that the credibility of the game is being compromised. RobLev's comments are partially right, but law knowledge does not automatically make a great referee.
Utter Rubbish. They do appear, but nobody north of the equator actually notices, because its only considered newsworthy if someone can use it to accuse Kiwis of whinging. Have a look at the NZ Herald article after the double yellow card to Bismarck Pu Plessis; a decision that hugely impacted on the game in the All Blacks favour, and might have been the difference between winning and losing for the Boks. The article was very critical of Romain Poite. Did that article get noticed up north? Of course not, because there was nowhere to go with it, no lies to be told, no way to twist it for people to show their anti-Kiwi bias.
Why you continue to allow Browner to wind you up I don't understand.
Its not a matter of wind up. I simply am not going to allow lies and falsehoods to be posted unchallenged.
[ON topic]
I thought Gregor Paul's article was fair and balanced, and most importantly, addressed a serious concern that the iRB are well aware of. The standard of refereeing at the top level is very poor. A number of top referees have retired over the last few years (Rolland, Kaplan etc) and the current crop of replacements are simply nowhere near up to the task. Like players who are good at the next level down but cannot make the transition to top level test rugby, so it is happenning with referees now.
To be sure, they are not helped by excruciatingly complex laws at the breakdown. Trying to maintain a contest at the breakdown without having either a "procession of possession"at one extreme or a 50/50 turnover rate at the other is a ball-breaker. I have some ideas to make thing less complex, but that can be for another thread.
Also, I don't buy the argument at if grass roots referees can manage the breakdown well, then elite/test referees ought to be able to as well. The fact is that at the top level of the game, you have best players in the world, hand-picked from all the teams that play in that country. Things happen much, much faster at that level because you have the best of the best. A number of referees that can cope well when the game is slower at lower levels simply can't cut it when the game speeds up, the gaps become smaller and the margins become narrower, and I don't mean just physically, but mentally as well.
I haven't read any Aussie press but those Australians I have heard on NZ Radio since the game were also critical of this refs inconsistent and confusing performance!
With respect to the Crockett binning - in my [some might say biased view] his infringing was a matter of timing and does not remotely come close to being in the "cynical" category as stated by the ref
Gregory Paul 19/8/14
" Last year's test against South Africa at Eden Park was ruined by a horrid decision by Romain Poite to yellow-card Bismarck du Plessis for a legal tackle "
Gregory Paul 15/9/13
" they lost to the better team. It maybe would have been closer if it had been 15 versus 15, but the All Blacks still would have won.
" yes ( the red card was justified) The first offence was not a yellow - although what Bismarck du Plessis did with his head looked bad. But the second offence was a straight red. Seriously bad.
So a personal attack from a mod on a poster? That's an interesting approach.
Please don't let rr.com sink to that.
If you feel Browner oversteps the mark - deal with that, you have the authority.
It seems that you prefer to engage by calling him a liar and other names. This cheapens the debate and your standing.
You know what people are entitled to their views even if it's incorrect. Some people think the Earth is 2000 years old and on the back of a turtle. Calling them names and abusing them is unlikely to shift that view.
Ultimately so much of this is opinion - which thankfully people differ on.