RugbyRefs.com

Referee Opportunities in New Zealand

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:28:00 -0500

RugbyRefs.com has been contacted by the West Coast RFU www.westcoastrfu.com as they have a shortage of refs at present.

iRB Elite Panel Released & Junior World Championship Official Named

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:03:00 -0500

The iRB has now formally issued the panel list on it's website and it in now clear that a number of key referees have been omitted.

The mystery of whether or not the appointments issued constituted a new Panel, or just a list of appointments has now been cleared up.

It is now clear that those referees omitted from the appointments have indeed been dropped from the panel.

As a referee I welcome the news that the elite grading committee will be meeting four times a year to assess current form and move people into and out of the top list as required. This shows that those who are refereeing well will have the ability to progress, and those who have not so good games may be moved down

No new iRB Elite Referees' Panel

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 10:49:00 -0500

The iRB has today announced a restructure that has Paddy O'Brien, the iRB Referees' Manager moved from his position to head up the 7's game.

The report says that Paddy wanted a fresh challenge, this may be true, or a polite way of saying he was pushed, but whatever they reason for the change Paddy certainly has the ability to take one of the World's fastest growing sports, and make it a success at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

I, would personally like to say Thank you to Paddy for the good job he's done at the helm of Elite Referees over the last 8 years. And the support he's shown to RugbyRefs.com in the past.

The iRB press release also mentioned that there would now be a new selection

TMOs & Close Calls

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:26:00 -0600

As we saw in this weekend's match between England & Wales being a TMO can be a very difficult job.

Lets look at England's last gasp try that was ruled as held up by the TMO, and decide if it was right or not.

First of all I will state that on replay, and with the benefit of doubt, I believe that it probably was a try.

However, the referee from his first glance believed that the Welsh had got there in time to hold it up (It was close!), with this in mind he asked the TMO Question 1 which is "Try or no try?". Which is exactly the right question he needed to ask from what he had seen.

Had the referee seen a grounding, he would

Referee calls off the France Vs Ireland game

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 06:27:00 -0600

The France v Ireland game was called off moments before the scheduled last night due to the pitch being frozen.

The referee, Dave Pearson of England, has received quite bad press about the late call off, but I believe unfairly so.

The organisers obviously wanted the game to go ahead, as did the players & fans, but the officials and coaches were in constant discussion about the pitch. It is understood that parts of the pitch were already frozen and with the temperatures due to drop further as the night went on, the safety of the players had to be paramount.

Dave Pearson decided on the final inspection that the pitch was not safe, which is exactly what he is required to do

Importance of the Stud Check

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:05:00 -0600

This is a quick reminder to all referees to ensure they carry out their stud checks before a game.

The picture attached is reproduced here with permission from our friends in the Western Province of South Africa (http://www.wprugbyrefs.co.za).

It shows quite clearly the extent of damage that can be caused by illegal studs, and that referees

Wayne Barnes, Dave Pearson & the red card that turned yellow

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:18:00 -0600

All the Welsh must have had their hearts in their mouth, 65 minutes into a cracking game of rugby and Bradley Davies not only performs a tip tackle much worse than that of his captain at the world cup, but off the ball too, he was reacting to a shoulder charge on Adam Jones by Donnacha Ryan.

Thanks to Alain Rolland's nerveless decision at the Rugby World Cup and the seemingly endless conversations the world is now aware that this type of tackle can surely only end one way, with Wales once again finishing the game with 14 men.

The watching crowds wait and listen as an unsighted Wayne Barnes goes to talk to his Assistant Referee, Dave Pearson, an experienced IRB Panel Referee in his own right, to find out what has happened.