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Exeter highlight change to Premiership refereeing since Wayne Barnes came out of quarantine

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Mark Kerton/PA Images via Getty Images)

Exeter boss Rob Baxter believes the style of refereeing being applied in the Gallagher Premiership has changed since the return of veteran Wayne Barnes. The penalty count rose to a high of 174 in the second round of restart matches, an average of 29 per game. 

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However, with Barnes now available again following his 14-day quarantine after a holiday in Spain and with teams getting more used to the reemphasised breakdown interpretations, the number of penalties conceded fell to 131 in the most recent series of matches, a more acceptable average of 21 per game. 

It’s a decline that Baxter suggests could ultimately impact on the visible restart trend of teams frequently kicking to the corner off penalties and scoring off the ensuing lineout mauls. “It’s slowly changing, like we saw in New Zealand,” said Baxter, recalling how high penalty counts in the opening rounds of the Super Rugby Aotearoa declined as that tournament went on. 

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“When I say mixed interpretation, there has been a learning of what has gone on there. Even in the southern hemisphere, you saw an over-amount of penalties being given. 

“That allowed the referees to sit down and actually analyse exactly what was happening. Was the balance what the tackler was doing or what the defensive team was doing, was that being aligned correctly with what the attacking team was doing? 

“Over two or three weeks you have seen that alignment slightly change now where teams are actually starting to realise that just getting into a breakdown can actually mean there is a danger of you giving away a penalty as winning one. That is what we are starting to see now, those penalty counts starting to even out a little and a little bit more flow to the game.

“There are quite strict regulations and rules around the defensive team getting in on the ball and what has happened, probably since Wayne Barnes’ reintroduction, is you need to be good as a defensive team first before he is going to reward you so you have seen more not rolling away penalties, more non-release penalties which have made a more fluid game happen.

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“Because we saw a lot more penalties in the early rounds of the restart due to the mixed reactions around the officiating of the breakdown, that creates more opportunities to kick to the corner because there are more penalties. So it could well be the maul is scoring more points and becoming a bigger part of the game… it could just be the weight of penalties is creating a scenario that may slowly ebb away as everything settles down around the breakdown.”

Referee Barnes missed the opening two restart rounds but has since taken charge of the games between Bristol-Exeter and Bath-Wasps, with the Friday night meeting of Worcester-Bristol his latest appointment. Exeter, along with Leicester have conceded the least amount of penalties in the four rounds of matches since the restart, the tally of 39 contrasted wildly with the likes of Bristol who have conceded 59.

So concerned were Sale’s play-off rivals by the initial high figures that Steve Diamond would only permit three of his players to contest the breakdown in last Saturday’s win over Bristol, the Sharks conceding just six penalties compared to totals of 16 and 18 in their first two games back.   

POST-LOCKDOWN PENALTIES CONCEDED TABLE

39 – Exeter (11, 13, 6, 9), Leicester (17, 8, 8, 6)

43 – Gloucester (9, 11, 12, 11)

45 – Northampton (7, 12, 12, 14)

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46 – Bath (9, 15, 9, 13)

47 – Saracens (10, 16, 9, 12)

50 – Wasps (9, 11, 17, 13)

51 – London Irish (9, 21, 10, 11)

52 – Sale (16, 18, 12, 6) 

56 – Harlequins (11, 15, 15, 15)

59 – Bristol (17, 17, 14, 11)

60 – Worcester (13, 17, 20, 10)

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Trevor 20 minutes ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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