Ref Watch: A novice performance that favoured Australia
James Doleman is a relatively new name on the international refereeing scene having made his debut last summer at the – in officiating terms – tender age of 30.
The Kiwi’s appointment to as competitive a fixture as the first test of an Australia v England series suggests he is highly rated in World Rugby’s refereeing department. Despite the proximity of the next World Cup, with a run of good displays he could therefore still make the starting grid in France next autumn.
Unfortunately for Doleman, while his display in Perth was by no means a disaster it was also far from impressive. He looked exactly what he is – a novice at the top level – who therefore lacked the polish which comes with experience.
Darcy Swain and Jonny Hill Cards
Getting the game’s defining moment out of the way first, in the current climate and based on the guidelines provided, Doleman got this 100 per cent correct.
I can already hear ‘the game’s gone soft’ brigade chuntering about the proper punch-ups which typified rugby in the 1970’s and 80’s, and there was initially a hint of this in the Sky commentary when the excellent David Flatman joked: “What has the game come to when a pair of international second rows are pulling each other’s hair?”
However, Flatman is rugby union’s no.1 pundit for a reason, and when he saw Swain’s butt on a replay he retracted his earlier opinion and immediately suggested that a red card would follow.
Hill appeared to initiate the incident and he was certainly not taking a backward step when his opposite number responded, which made his yellow card an appropriate sanction. Presumably both players would have gone to the bin had the incident not gone beyond this bout of hair-pulling, but once Swain butted Hill – even with fairly minimal force – by working through the head contact protocols, a red card was unavoidable.
It was interesting to note both that Doleman received no hint of dissention from the touch judges or the TMO when he asked if they were happy with his proposed award of one yellow and one red card. In addition, when the ref mike then picked up Michael Hooper in the gap between Hill being sent to the bin and Swain being spoken to, it was impossible not to detect the hopeful tone in his voice when he asked Doleman: “We’re looking a yellow then?”
As I tried to explain to someone who I recently heard suggest that every international fast bowler from before 2000 was only medium-pace when compared to today’s quickies, there is no point in making comparisons between eras.
But in an attempt to pacify the ‘game’s gone soft’ brigade I am happy to confirm that 25 years ago Messrs Hill and Swain would have been told not to be so stupid, shaken hands and the game would have restarted with a penalty to England based on the final retaliatory act being Swain’s butt.
Breakdown Woes
My first note written about 15 minutes into the game said: “The breakdown is a mess, there’s bodies everywhere,” and Doleman never really got to grips with the tackle area across the 80 minutes. In total there were 15 penalties awarded for tackle-related offences or in the immediate aftermath, split 8-7 across the two teams – so put another way he never found a solution.
When things start to run away from you as a referee it is really difficult to reel them back in, which is why the comment: “the ref is setting his stall out” is regularly heard when no leeway is offered during the opening quarter of big matches.
This early ‘zero tolerance’ approach is usually most evident in the scrum and the tackle area. This is because refs are aware that free-flowing contests rarely result on a day when either of these are poorly officiated.
Doleman allowed the tackler too much time on the ground; the subsequent level of competition hugely reduced the amount of quick possession available to both sides. The contrast with Karl Dickson’s display in the earlier New Zealand v Ireland match – where there were nine breakdown penalties in total plus a yellow card against the hosts when four came in quick succession – was vivid.
Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | Quarter 4 | |
Pens against Australia | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
Pens against England | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
The Big Calls
19th Minute Breakdown Penalty
With England pressing the home line hard following Tom Curry’s break a try seemed inevitable. Marcus Smith then went left and a little away from his support, but he was still only three metres from the home line when Australia hooker Dave Porecki killed the ball on the ground. A ‘red zone’ yellow card all day long, but Porecki got away with a warning and a penalty.
22nd Minute Scrum Penalty – 3 points to Australia
With Australia’s tight head Allan Alaalatoa face down on the floor after his bind slipped and Ellis Genge on his feet, when the hosts were awarded a scrum penalty, in the commentary box former England prop Flatman wryly commented: “It’s a struggle to see how bind alone keeps a 19 stone tight head on his feet.” Should have been a penalty to England.
40th minute Breakdown penalty – 3 points to Australia
The penalty call was fine, but in contravention of the newly-emphasised law edict, Wallabies flanker Rob Leota had previously claimed possession at the front of the lineout from which Australia set up field position from around a metre inside the five-metre channel. Free kick to England.
56th minute Hooper jackal
Australia’s skipper won a crucial turnover penalty on his own line with a brilliantly-timed jackal. However, the split-second delay which allowed him to nip in and poach the ball came as a result of Porecki being on the wrong side on the ground. Should have been an England penalty.
Billy Vunipola Yellow Card
Finishing on a positive note for referee Doleman, as with the earlier cards I thought he got this entirely correct.
Vunipola’s left arm definitely made contact with the ball-carrier’s head, and by asking for an additional look at the replay in real time the official allowed himself to accurately assess the amount of force involved in a contact which in slo-mo he initially assessed as being “passive.”
“In real time it looks a harder contact,” he advised, and subsequently upgraded the sanction applied from a penalty to a yellow card having first assessed that body height provided mitigation from any thought of a red.
Comments on RugbyPass
Did the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
1 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
16 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
16 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
16 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
16 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to comments