A little praise for the refs
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I for one can be quick to suggest improvements to the reffing process but there are some good signs at the moment that after quite a number of years the rugby refs have finally taken cues from the lessons learned in cricket reviews and made the TMO process quicker and easier for those at home to follow.
There can still be cases where they get caught up in trying to see something instead of 'clear and obvious' but generally they are communicating better and being more decisive, moving through the thought process logically.
Let's hope it continues and once punters get used to it move even more to a situation where the TMO is simply looking for clear and obvious decisions based on having more visibility than the on field ref.
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@Crucial Yes, there are definitely positive signs (in XVs). Maybe, in SR, they're finally applying the TMO protocols that have been in place for a while now. I haven't seen enough of English, French, European etc rugby to know whether the officiating is also improving in the NH.
The memory of Ben Skeen's "check, check"s are still giving me nightmares, so I was - particularly - happy with Rasta dismissing the TMO intervention in Jaguares v Hurricanes. Rasta looked almost annoyed haha.
The World Sevens circuit seems to be a development/training opportunity for new refs and it's showing (plenty of bad officiating), but they should get better with more experience, too.
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Our NZ "hometown" refs deserve a little praise; SA "hometown" refs not so much ...
There's been a lot of moaning about the refs again this weekend. Particularly, Sharks/South African fans moaning about home town ref Ben O'Keefe not sending off Coles after his dive on the Sharks' reserve first five-eighth, and Reds/Australian fans complaining about home town ref Anselmi being biased and penalising the Reds for things the Jaguares were not penalised for.
In reaction to that, Green and Gold Rugby has posted the tweet below. Follow the link for a few more stats and an explanation further down the thread.
Their stats (for whatever they're worth, we can't verify them) show that SA refs award their home teams way more penalties than their overseas' opponents; and NZ refs award NZ home teams fewer penalties than the opposition teams (on aggregate).
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http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/community/threads/hometown-refs.18813/
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That, if you'll excuse the pun, is gold
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Great stats (if indeed true).
Clearly shows that only SA refs can spot all the cheating done by NZ and Aussie teams.
