Ref Watch: The truth about the Olly Woodburn call
Ed Morrison is to date the only Englishman among the elite eight-strong list* of World Cup final referees.
And it was the Bristolian who took charge of South Africa’s emotion-charged 1995 extra-time win over New Zealand that came to mind as I considered the reaction of many ex-players and Exeter winger Jack Nowell to the red card that Karl Dickson last weekend showed to Olly Woodburn.
Morrison did most of his top-level refereeing in the last decade of the amateur era when he numbered some outstanding officials including his countryman Tony Spreadbury, Scotland’s Jim Fleming, Wales’ Derek Bevan and Aussie Wayne Erickson among his contemporaries. When finding my way with the whistle I was recommended a referee coaching book which Morrison co-produced with a fellow Bristol Society member who also happened to be a writer.
The book tells the tale of an international involving Australia who had a prop leave the field to have a cut stitched. In those days replacements were strictly only for injuries, temporary or blood substitutes didn’t exist and there were no safety-based regulations dictating that only fully-trained props pack down in the front row unless scrums go uncontested.
The game continued until Morrison blew for a knock-on at which point the Wallabies looked hopefully to the sidelines – where there was still no sign of a patched-up prop.
After a pregnant pause the English whistler took charge. “You need to prop,” he told startled openside flanker David Wilson.
And before anyone had time to make further comment he turned to his opponent in the front row and told him “If you don’t go easy on him I’ll penalise you.”
Olly Woodburn gets a 2nd yellow and is sent off on a ? for… well, take a look:
? @btsportrugby | #LEIvEXE pic.twitter.com/gTmOs7a8gU
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 16, 2023
The opponent nodded, Wilson duly packed down against him and the match continued without any further ado.
As this story shows, in times past referees were encouraged to use the laws as a framework within which they managed 30 players to produce the best possible match for players, officials and spectators.
By contrast, the modern quest for total consistency means Dickson and his contemporaries are required to follow a pre-determined mental checklist which dictates exactly how every situation is dealt with – and not just when considering contact to the head.
The introduction of the TMO has made this situation worse rather than better. Because every significant incident is reviewed behind the scenes then replayed frame by frame to the onfield officials, crowd and players on a giant screen as required, referees must have a standard sanitised pre-approved response to avoid accusations of inconsistency.
It is no longer acceptable to referee the big picture and by managing it well and with empathy for what the players are trying to achieve reach an outcome in real time with which most people are broadly happy. Instead, the official must attempt the impossible and try to deal with every detail. Any other approach sadly now risks ordeal by cherry-picked TV clips at the hands of the half-time analysts or after the event from angry fans or coaches on social media.
This unenviable position was precisely where Dickson found himself last weekend, when he followed a process which was then repeated in the subsequent disciplinary ruling – which incidentally quite rightly applied no further sanctions to Woodburn – and spelled out a sequence of law which caused a second yellow card to be followed by a red.
Had Dickson not been required to look at a TMO slo-mo the game would have continued with a lineout and no-one would have said any more about it. But once it became apparent frame-by-frame that Ashton had a knee on the ground thus making the tackle complete, and that Woodburn then arrived off his feet and from the side and by doing so prevented a probable try being scored, there was only one possible outcome regardless of whether you view the Exeter winger as also being guilty of diving on a prone player (which I don’t).
Following the hammering that Dickson took on social media, there was surely no coincidence about the timing of him being awarded one of the upcoming four Champions Cup semi-finals on the same day that this disciplinary verdict was delivered. While supporting your officials is the right thing to do – especially when they are in the right – effectively placing him alongside Wayne Barnes, Jaco Peyper and Mathieu Reynal ahead of English colleagues Matthew Carley and Luke Pearce in my view gets the pecking order wrong, but that one is for another day.
The TMO was of course introduced in rugby, cricket and now football with the prime objective of removing the ‘howler.’ Going back to the Morrison era for an example, the David Campese try which was so crucial to a test match between the Wallabies and the Lions is the type of episode which its use has successfully eradicated.
But everything evolves, and it seems to me that rugby now needs to find a way to row back on its more widespread use since it is killing so much of what we all love about the sport. The question is how to put toothpaste back in the tube?
I remember refereeing a good friend after he ended his top-level playing days at Coventry, Leicester and Rugby Lions and was occasionally turning out for a local Warwickshire level six club.
He found the transition to playing with lower-skilled players a difficult one, and after one match suggested to me that it would have been a much better game had I ignored the countless small knock-ons and only blown the big ones. He was undoubtedly correct, but then I asked him how he would have responded had the opposition scored a match-winning try after I ignored an earlier knock-on. His theory was rapidly returned to the drawing board!
This is the issue that rugby now has, since allowing the referee to manage the big picture Ed Morrison style and only use the TMO to correct a howler is simply not a viable approach when we can all pause our TV and watch again in slo-mo. The half-time analysts would simply reel off a string of items which – to the letter of the law – were incorrectly not penalised and confusion would reign.
Instead, it seems that rugby is going the other way. I was recently privileged to attend a presentation given by Premier League football referee John Brooks who with the use of loads of video footage spoke brilliantly and provided an enthralling insight into his job.
I was amazed by the level of post-match scrutiny given to games he refereed and (and this truly left me staggered) to those which he sat in a TV studio in London and watched as the main VAR official.
Frame by frame hundreds of decisions and non-decisions per match are dissected and itemised with a mark being given for how accurately he called each situation. Those with higher marks over the season end up with the bigger games. Where football leads rugby union inevitably follows…
I always enjoy hearing from Exeter’s Rob Baxter as like my old Wasps boss Dai Young he appears to have a considered opinion which is worth listening to on most subjects. Of course, he would have played in ‘the Morrison era’ and his post-match calls for common sense to be applied to this Woodburn incident reflect this. As per my friend and the small knock-ons, would he have taken the same approach had the decision in question seen Exeter benefit from a Leicester player being red carded? Let’s hope so.
Another seemingly likeable character, Jack Nowell, has been handed a whopping £10,000 fine for his less considered, spur-of-the-moment Twitter reaction. Quite clearly this is based not just on him being wrong in law but also on how he should behave as a role model in a sport which seeks to recruit and support officials rather than criticise/abuse and lose them.
The irony of this situation is that a rugby player who is very much ‘of the moment’ in both look and approach has taken a 2020’s approach by firing out a comment on social media to his 61700 followers in which he effectively calls for the referee to ignore the letter of the law and apply common sense in the old style…. he’ll have 1990’s hair before we know it!
· For those who like a quiz question:
1987 – Kerry Fitzgerald (Aus), 1991 – Derek Bevan (Wal), 1995 – Ed Morrison (Eng), 1999 – Andre Watson (SA), 2003 – Andre Watson (SA), 2007 – Allain Rolland (Ire), 2011 – Craig Joubert (SA), 2015 – Nigel Owens (Wal), 2019 – Jerome Garces (Fra)
Comments on RugbyPass
Super rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
24 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
24 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid 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?
5 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.
6 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.
22 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
22 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.
10 Go to comments