Sound advice given by duncanb & OB.. (posts 16 & 17) One of the difficulties with a discussion on the management of persistent infringements is that referees at the different levels /grades, with considerable differences in both playing & refereeing experience will have different views on how best to remember / record / monitor / analyse the penalty count in any given game. Don't forget that it is a fairly common practice for advisers / Assessors to show the penalty count per quarter which can give referees a guide as to how quickly control was achieved or not achieved. No adviser watching a L10 referee would expect much more than a reactive approach to how he deals with infringements. However, the same level of referee who has played at L6 and above is much more aware of the importance of control & communication via punitive and preventative measures. Alarm bells should mentally start ringing when a group of infringements, by one player or side, have occurred in a short space of time. The Yellow card is there to be used by referees as a management tool and any L7 referee who dishes out 30 to 40penalties without recourse to cards will be unlikely to make it to L6.
However, cards should never be dished out willy-nilly, I think it was either Dixie or Dickie E who emphasised that there is a build up to a card with warnings to player/captain who will be left in no doubt as to what action will follow should that side ignore the referees preventative calls. This approach is frquently described as ....both cards were well sold. The opposite to this is deemed to be pulling rabbits out of a hat....suddenly branishing a card without a sequence of warnings can indicate that a referee is losing it.
Now in defence of Assessors, yes we do sit in a stand with stopwatch & clipboard etc & produce data but this is for the benefit of the referee who will need this ...and his own coach ...and video man as he moves up the ladder. I have just looked at a copy of a senior RFU assessors report...and the data collection is quite something... not something I could aspire to. Its horses for courses for all of us.
PS. Just received the JP Lennard SU570 stop watches with clipboard attachments. Face is approximately 2" dia and numbers height about 0.5"
Lastly, a suggestion to lawsons P18. I would suggest you bounce your ideas / thoughts off one of your society's L6 or L5 referees. Whats their take on this.
I was going to go fishing this afternoon.....thats another salmon I didn't catch.
Bill Lee