Just like a bad sequel I’m back to whinge about the standard of refereeing in saturday night’s heart-stopper at Lang Park.
Craig Joubert is widely regarded as the world’s best whistle blower. I disagree. I would argue that he and his team of flag wavers have absolutely no feel for the game in front of them. Allow me to provide an example.
Near the end of the game Richie McCaw makes a strong tackle and immediately, and I mean immediately rolls away from the ball and tackled player. The Aussies were on attack and I wouldn’t have put it past them to score through the inexplicably bad defense on the night. So, Joubert blows his whistle for a penalty against McCaw. I’m not for a minute saying that King Richie is a saint but this wasn’t even close to being a penalty. Now, to make matters worse (I put ‘now’ in there because my mother hates it – a bit of family wind up) the ball is at the Australian halfback’s feet and ready to go. If Joubert is such an awesome all-round great referee then wouldn’t he have played the advantage and possibly have the Australians close out the game? Instead he blows the whistle and the Aussies are all but forced to kick a penalty. If that isn’t a lack of feel I don’t know what is.
I’m also bewildered by his definition of a ruck. It’s plain as day in the rule book, but apparently the definition changes depending on the situation. Most frustrating for players and spectators alike. Are they aware the sport is full contact? When a player jumps in the air competing for a high-ball – it’s reasonably safe to assume Neo and Morpheus aren’t the combatants and therefore cannot change direction in mid-air. Sometimes players fall hard. Sin bin? Give me a fucking break, you cannot be serious.
No, referees, you’re not the most important part of the game; just a part of it. Leave the game alone!!!
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