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'I'm too old'- Referee Raynal's impromptu exit midway through match
By Kim Ekin
The combination of playing at altitude and the stiflingly hot summer weather in Pretoria was widely tipped to be a deciding factor in Exeter Chiefs’ visit to Loftus Versfeld yesterday to face the Bulls, but few predicted the most significant casualty from the conditions would be referee Mathieu Raynal.
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With 51 minutes on the clock, the Frenchman took captains Ruan Nortje and Henry Slade aside to explain that he can no longer referee the match, which the hosts went on to win 39-28 in the Heineken Champions Cup.
“I’m sorry, I have a problem [with] my hamstring, so we will just change the referee,” he said after officiating a back-and-forth match that had already seen six tries scored between both sides.
“I cannot run, I have something, so sorry, all the best,” he continued, before shaking both captains’ hands and bizarrely briefing them on how the game should restart. “Knock-on blue, scrum Exeter,” were his instructions, which both captains had to presumably relay to the incoming replacement referee Thomas Charabas.
Raynal’s final words before disappearing down the tunnel were “I’m too old.”
Things may have panned out differently for Exeter, particularly Slade, had Raynal remained on the pitch. Within minutes of replacing the 41-year-old, Charabas and his TMO adjudged Slade to have committed a red card offence when tackling Springbok Kurt-Lee Arendse. In what has proven to be a debatable call, Raynal may have come to a different conclusion.
Raynal is not the first referee to fall victim to officiating at altitude, as Nigel Owens picked up a similar hamstring injury in 2013 while overseeing South Africa’s epic with the All Blacks at Ellis Park. The Welshman picked up cramp in the closing stages of the match that day and was able to limp on, but the prospect of another 30 minutes for Raynal was too much.
“I’m too old”
Referee Mathieu Raynal tweaks a hamstring in the #HeinekenChampionsCup clash between @BlueBullsRugby and @ExeterChiefs and has to go off.
ADVERTISEMENTWe’re sure it has nothing to do with Kurt-Lee Arendse playing… 👀 pic.twitter.com/bTdL4n1RFx
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 14, 2023
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Who are Namani Nadolo, Mahe Vailau, Charlie Gambel and Adam Ashley-Coper? Does anyone proofread and edit this stuff? Dire.
Go to commentsSo ... my feeling on this is that this absulutely be manipulated by the ball carrier to ensure the penalty or card. Having competed and coached in karate for many years.. there is a ruling called "mabobi" it is where the attacking player endangers him/herself by leading with the head or face, with little or no regard for their own safety. I believe that this can easily and effectively be utilised in rugby... If the TMO can show that the attacking player lowered their position so as to lead with the head and to make the tackle almost impossible, he/she should be penalised for deliberately endangering themselves and the defending team be awarded a penalty. This will also avoid a lot of potential issues with the new proposed tackle law as well.
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