If a flag goes up, touch, always.
Just looks bad. And deflection of pressure is easy with, sorry lads flag up.
that could be the guy's first time on the line ever. to go blindly with some 3rd side player's half ass attempt is wrong. don't be ashamed to overrule him.
TO3 - you have each other's back and yes - no matter what - you go with your AR's flag.
Agree with ddjamo. If you disagree with a trained, capable AR on a tight call that is within his area of responsibility, go with his call in the interests of unity and confidence in the To3. But when an unappointed TJ in RFU-land (as opposed to Aus, where there is an expectation that the TJ is both trained and competent) makes a glaring error, IMO you HAVE to overrule if practical.
I once went on exchange to ST's school Old Boys club. The TJ on the pavilion side was excellent - keen, up with play, sprinting to get behind the posts and back at kicks. A joy to work with compared to the usual reluctantly-pressed man. But he got one call very wrong. Big clearance kick, falling only just into touch. A player from the non-kicking side, exercising good skill, kept both feet in play and caught the ball beyond the plane of touch - at which point the TJ put up his flag. I called PLAY ON - and the player then set of on a mazy run as lots of kicking-team players looked askance at me.
If I had not called play on, it would have been a throw-in - but to whom? The ball never touched the ground or anything in touch. The player who last played it before the flag went up was from the non-kicking side, so throw-in to the kicking side? That would not have been popular or sensible. How about throw-in to the side that played it last before the flag went up? That's not particularly bright either. IMO, if players have not been taught to play to the whistle, their coaches bear the brunt of any consequences for not doing so. My call was loud and clear -if they want to stop and throw their hands in the air, that's not my problem.
