"That can't be right"

[Greg Collins]

Level ?12? friendly, even tempered game, Blue well in lead over Red, well into second half everyone sweating buckets and tiring fast.

Blue free kick just behind 10m line is kicked directly to touch just over the other 10m. TJ has gone AWOL again (not that this should have made any difference) Ref has a brainstorm and marks touch/awards line out where ball went into touch. Line out starts to form and Red 9, whose side have throw, with a cheeky grin and in a proper tone of voice very quietly asks ref "Is that right, Sir? Off a free kick?". Ref reflects for a few moments during which time two packs have arrived and agrees "Yep 9, you're right there should have been no gain in ground, but I've given it now, and everyone is here now so lets play on." Red 9 just grins and says "Fair enough". 29 people in the park didn't utter a word. We play on.

Should I, having made the mistake, have done things differently and, for instance, moved everyone back to where the kick was taken? Its the second time so far in my career I've got this one wrong.... What if it happens in a League game, should I manage my mistakes differently then?

[Pablo]

No, that's the best management technique available to you - own up. You can judge the success of your management from the players' reactions, and it sounds like they all respected this one. For example, I've lost count of the number of times where an I've cut an advantage short when the ball unexpectedly popped up in the non-offending team's hands - and all one can do in those situations is shrug one's shoulders and apologise. What's important is that you don't then allow the players to start questioning everything - which they will certainly do at higher levels!

[OB..]

Before the 2000 re-write the law said "He [the referee] cannot alter a decision unless he observes that a touch judge's flag is raised or before he has received a report from either or both of his touch judges"

That ethos still prevails.

[ex-lucy]

For example, I've lost count of the number of times where an I've cut an advantage short when the ball unexpectedly popped up in the non-offending team's hands - and all one can do in those situations is shrug one's shoulders and apologise.
yep, i had a classic one like that last Sat.
Green 12 knock on in yellow's 22m nr try line, yellow young 15 picks up and dashes forth, fast. As he approaches the 22m line, with one defender to beat before he gets to maybe the green FB on half way, with a wide open side to run in, i call nice and clear "advantage over". At that instant he passes to his right where the green 12 is retreating fast. Green 12 collects pass and jogs over for a try.
Later on in the half something similar happens .... and i am a bit slower to call adv over ... and award a scrum ... the yellow skipper looks at me and smiles ... i say "I learnt from the earlier one.....!" He smiles broader.

[Dixie]

It's important to front up to your mistakes. The players know when you've made one - if you recognise it at the same time as them, or when prompted by then, they'll respect you a lot more for being man enough to admit the error and apologise, explaining that you can't go back on it now (OB's ethos of the pre-200 re-write). When I've done this, I've almost always had positive comment afterwards about how nice it is to have a ref who'll own up to his mistakes rather than try to bluster his way out of them.

[Simon Thomas]

100% - own up and apologise to players at the time and the coach afterwards. Always the best route and will get you more respect than not.

We all make mistakes.

And sometimes we blow automatically and just wish we had waited a nano-second. Or in reaction to something that 'looked wrong' but on reflection was correct in LoG.

[tim White]

I have been known to reverse a try because what I thought was the ball turned out to be a white scrum cap. My immediate reaction was to blow again and shout ' no try, my mistake' before I had time to think. To my relief, and their credit, not one person complained. Fortunately it did not affect the result.:o