Dwyer enters Tri-Nations referees’ debate

(GETTY IMAGES)

Bob Dwyer, Australia’s first World Cup winning coach, has entered the growing debate over the controversial performance of southern hemisphere referees in this year’s Tri-Nations.

Dwyer spoke out in the light of two refereeing performances regarded as inferior in Tri-Nations games over the past 10 days. Both matches, refereed by New Zealander Bryce Lawrence in Perth and last Saturday’s in Sydney handled by South African Craig Joubert, saw a free-for-all at the breakdown, which turned out to be the key phase.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry admitted after his side’s defeat to the Wallabies in Sydney “The breakdown is a big problem. Too many players were off their feet and that makes it especially difficult.”

Both Joubert and Lawrence not only ignored players off their feet, but also those regularly crossing the offside line and handling the ball on the ground. That phase of play became a jungle in both matches and Dwyer says lessons must be learned.

“Some of what went on was farcical” he said. “But if referees don’t referee what is in front of them and what is in the law book, you end up with this sort of chaos. I talked to some international referees not that long ago and asked them about a point, and their reply astonished me. They told me ‘Oh, we don’t referee that, or we don’t do it like that’.

“I felt like asking them how many different interpretations there are of the English language. I mean, if it is down in the law book in black and white then how come they insert their own interpretation.”

Dwyer praised Australian referee Matt Goddard for his performance in the clash between New Zealand and South Africa in Dunedin. Goddard was so strict in the first half hour that no flow was possible in the game. But, said Dwyer, once the players got the message, the game opened up and was a superb spectacle.

“It’s like players have to be pulled up repeatedly in the first 20-30 minutes. That might mean more penalties than you would wish to see but it seems to lead to a better game eventually. There was another example of this last Saturday. What Craig Joubert did get right was yellow carding (NZ lock) Brad Thorn for a high tackle after only six minutes.

“Call it a coincidence if you like, but there were no more high tackles in the whole game. The players had got the message. The same has to apply to the breakdown and being offside. Players were frequently offside in midfield but Joubert didn’t penalise anyone until about ten minutes from the end. Referees have to lay down strict markers for players, especially under these new ELVs.”

The standard of refereeing in all the Tri-Nations matches to date has been poor. At times in Sydney on Saturday, Joubert seemed to abdicate his duties, allowing scrums to collapse and not stopping the game and re-setting them as the law book requires. The scrum feed was almost always crooked and at the breakdown, players coming over the top at rucks were allowed to continue, even when off their feet.

Dwyer added “I’ve been saying for some time the standard of refereeing worldwide is a problem. We need to get it sorted urgently.”