Ref Watch: A tale of two refereeing performances
New Zealand’s Ben O’Keeffe caught my eye during Japan 2019 and since then he has blossomed into an outstanding referee who surely is on the 2023 final shortlist.
In particular, the 34-year-old’s ability to speak fluent French sets him apart from most of the current roster of international whistlers other than England’s Luke Pearce (who appears tomorrow).
Given that this year’s competition takes place in France and that the hosts seem likely to go deep into the tournament, having a collection of English speakers taking charge of the knock-out stages would not be a good look for World Rugby.
O’Keeffe’s commitment to being one of the world’s top referees is evident from these language skills. According to the English-born, Paris-based multi-lingual referee who helps top match officials develop language skills, the Kiwi eye surgeon has made himself into someone who merits the tag “bilingual” through a huge quantity of hard work.
Throughout rugby history French-speaking teams have had an understandable chip on their collective shoulders about facing an English-speaking team in a contest controlled by a referee who chats away in their opponent’s native tongue. You sense their whole demeanour changes when communicated with on an equal footing and should France reach this November’s Stade de France final, on this basis they will be delighted if O’Keeffe is there with them.
Communication and Management
Like Wayne Barnes, the Kiwi whistler has a presence which sets him apart from the crowd in officiating terms. His communication skills – in two languages – are outstanding, he rarely wastes a word and only interjects when needed.
The contrast was especially vivid today because of the self-inflicted issues Damon Murphy had with Italy in this area, but there is no doubt that O’Keeffe is in total control – and the players know it. At one point an off-camera and off-microphone England forward clearly said something with which O’Keeffe was unhappy and was promptly cut dead with: “I’m not going to get into a debate.”
Good Attention to Detail
O’Keeffe managed to tick off two of World Rugby’s current pet topics in the first half when he penalised lifter Kyle Sinckler for being in front of jumper Maro Itoje as a lineout became a maul then pinged Lewis Ludlam for going off his feet when pre-latched to Max Malins.
It was also interesting to see how O’Keeffe dealt with a shambolic French lineout which saw them quickly throw to the front man while their lifting pod was still stood a couple of metres away from the line of touch waiting to join. Most of us would have waved play on, but O’Keeffe correctly awarded a free kick to England since the offence related to the formation of the lineout.
Teamwork is Dreamwork
The teamwork between O’Keeffe and touch judge Jaco Peyper which saw them both ideally positioned to see Charles Ollivon reach over the breakdown and ground the ball for a try as it lay on England’s side was really impressive.
In O’Keeffe’s case the ability to read what was happening and the pace to get to the England side stood out while Peyper had the presence of mind to move ‘the wrong way’ along the touch-in-goal line to a position rarely taken by a touch judge in order to get an enhanced view.
This meant they were able to correctly call the try on-field prior to sending it to TMO Brett Cronan for confirmation.
Nice one Ben
During many years of BBC Six Nations coverage, the lack of understanding which ageing former players brought to explaining current laws in their once-a-year pundit roles was a huge source of frustration to me – and I’m sure plenty of other referees.
It is therefore refreshing to hear some of the current generation add accurate insight to the TV pictures. I thought Sam Warburton was especially good in previous seasons and this week let’s give a tip of the hat to Ben Kay.
The former Leicester lock was spot on with his explanation of Malins’ non-try early in the second half. As Ben noted, had the diving Saracen trapped the cross-kick on the ground with his chest he only required downward pressure for a try to be awarded.
However, because he tried to catch the ball, Malins then needed to retain control without separation between ball and hand from first contact until the grounding took place. When the ball escaped his clutches even though his chest subsequently applied downward pressure, under current guidelines a knock-on was correctly adjudged.
Italy v Wales
Australia’s Damon Murphy was given the dubious honour of refereeing the Six Nations wooden spoon decider in Rome – his second career outing in the Northern Hemisphere’s blue-chip tournament.
To me Murphy seemed nervous throughout the game and never completely settled, perhaps because he was over-eager to impress in World Cup year? We all react differently in this sort of situation and Murphy’s nervousness manifested itself in endless chatter.
The days when the likes of Tony Spreadbury wise-cracked their way through 80 minutes are long gone, with referees now being instructed to use verbal input sparingly for maximum impact. The issue with endless dialogue which becomes commentary is that players quickly tune out what becomes ‘white noise.’
For example, when penalising Ken Owens on the ground shortly before half-time Murphy needed only “tackler away.” Instead we heard: “You’ve got to go east to west on the ground not north to south. You’re not rolling away.”
Through frequent off-the-cuff conversations with players as lineouts formed or during breaks in play, Murphy sent the subliminal message that he was nervous and would get involved in detailed discussions with players. Inevitably, as things went against his team this led to Italy’s captain Michele Lamaro going some way beyond what is normally deemed acceptable in the frequency with which he challenged decisions and how he did it.
Italy Penalty Try claim?
After repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot by allowing the ball to bounce, missing tackles in confined space and not converting line breaks into points Italy understandably got growingly frustrated during a first half in which Wales built a 19-point lead.
This spilled over at times in their approach towards Murphy – especially after he spent an age looking at the decision not to award a penalty try following Owen Williams’ try-saving tackle on Ignacio Brex.
This tight call hinged on the referee’s interpretation of whether there was an offside line? Traditionally, as the commentators mentioned, following a tackle there had to be at least one player from each side in contact and contesting the ball for a ruck to exist which in turn created offside lines for everyone else on the field.
This changed a few years back following Italy’s clever refusal to engage in rucks with England which allowed them to subsequently mug Ben Youngs at the base. Since then, following a tackle only one player has to be on his feet over the ball for a ruck and offside line to exist and for anyone joining the breakdown to be required to arrive from their own side.
Replays showed no such rucking player here – only the tackler and the ball carrier were present – after which Brex picked up the ball and went for the line so we had no offside line. This situation therefore became open play meaning Williams could approach from any direction so his tackle was legal.
Nice one Karl
Regular readers of this column will know I have on occasions questioned English official Karl Dickson’s readiness for top-level refereeing following his accelerated promotion from Premiership player to international official.
However, he is now really growing into his new career and for a second time in this Six Nations he played a vital role in shaping a decision and ensuring the officiating team arrived at the correct outcome.
During round three Dickson stepped in from the touchline to ensure Georgian ref Nika Amashukeli showed France’s Mohamad Houas a red card rather than the yellow he was initially favouring after the prop crashed into Scotland scrum half Ben White’s head.
Two weeks later, as the team of three and TMO Joy Neville discussed Italy winger Pierre Bruno’s fend off which ended with a forearm going into the throat of tackler Wyn Jones the conversation was heading towards a sending off.
Perhaps sensing that Neville’s comment “it’s direct to the neck” hinted at red and having viewed a ‘real-time’ replay which suggested that high levels of danger were not present, Dickson made a key intervention.
“Is it a strike or a push away?” he pointedly asked Murphy, who to his credit immediately understood the point being made and downscaled to a yellow card.
As I wrote last time, this is exactly why we have a team of officials; providing the correct decision is eventually reached why worry about all four voices not being completely aligned from the first second they discuss an incident?
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments