6 games down and a few observations. Interested to hear the comments of others who have been watching..
1. Israel Dagg (Crusaders) pulled off a great dive over the sideline to throw the ball back into play from a Brumbies PK.
2. I think the Southern Hemisphere refs are being a bit more lenient with the sanctions for high tackles that make contact with the head than their NH counterparts. Point in question being the hit/clean out on Hooper during the Waratahs v Force game. Ben O'Keefe only gave a PK when most of the videos/directives would suggest a YC.
3. I think there was a couple in the Sun Wolves v Hurricanes game as well.
4. Nick Bryant gets the prize for most confused look on a ref's face when asking the TMO to check if a try had been scored. This after it appeared NB had not seen a grounding and asked his AR if he has seen a grounding who replied "No", but still told the TMO the on-field decision was a try.
5. At the end of the Waratahs v Force game, the Tahs are 6 points up and have a PK at goal that goes wide, the ball lands beyond the DBL and then the eighty minutes is up. NB blows full time even though there was a clarification back in 2015 that says the critical time to determine if there is a restart is when the ball is kicked.
1. Israel Dagg (Crusaders) pulled off a great dive over the sideline to throw the ball back into play from a Brumbies PK.
2. I think the Southern Hemisphere refs are being a bit more lenient with the sanctions for high tackles that make contact with the head than their NH counterparts. Point in question being the hit/clean out on Hooper during the Waratahs v Force game. Ben O'Keefe only gave a PK when most of the videos/directives would suggest a YC.
3. I think there was a couple in the Sun Wolves v Hurricanes game as well.
4. Nick Bryant gets the prize for most confused look on a ref's face when asking the TMO to check if a try had been scored. This after it appeared NB had not seen a grounding and asked his AR if he has seen a grounding who replied "No", but still told the TMO the on-field decision was a try.
5. At the end of the Waratahs v Force game, the Tahs are 6 points up and have a PK at goal that goes wide, the ball lands beyond the DBL and then the eighty minutes is up. NB blows full time even though there was a clarification back in 2015 that says the critical time to determine if there is a restart is when the ball is kicked.