Ref Watch: Why Lawrence Dallaglio was wrong and Mike Adamson was correct
Twelve months on from the catastrophic refereeing display from Pascal Gauzere which to all intents and purposes determined the outcome of the Six Nations clash between Wales and England, despite Wayne Pivac’s post-match claims, there was no repeat performance when the teams met at Twickenham.
All of 2022’s round three Six Nations games were handled by referees who (as things stand) seem to be on the fringes of the 12-strong group who will be in the middle at next year’s World Cup.
Everything to gain then for Scotland’s Mike Adamson and England’s Karl Dickson – a pair of fast-tracked former professional players – and Georgia’s first refereeing star Nika Amashukeli who takes charge of Italy’s trip to Ireland.
There was very little controversy in either of round three’s opening games, although Dickson looked significantly more assured in Edinburgh than his Scottish counterpart managed to appear in London where he put in a messy, if not below-par display.
Pivac’s Push?
Having viewed this a few times, I am yet to find an angle which conclusively proves or disproves Pivac’s claim that Wales turned possession over because of a push on their jumper.
The throw appears to miss its target by some distance, so something clearly went wrong, but neither Adamson nor TMO Brian Macneice saw the need to stop the game so the ref could study a replay.
When a try is scored in these slightly odd circumstances it would be far from unusual for the TMO to take a look at a replay in the background so he can intervene before the conversion if an offence has been missed.
And, as described below, MacNeice had already proved himself more than happy to carry out just such a review when Liam Williams received an after-the-event yellow card in the first half.
Conclusion – MacNeice looked and there is no case to answer, or everyone missed it. Either way, it is hard to believe that Dan Biggar of all people was not making a case in the most forceful of terms if Wales felt severely hard done-by on the pitch.
“We took 14 points last year in a Six Nations game where they allowed a play where the ball wasn’t alive and then a blatant knock-on." #GuinnessSixNations https://t.co/tEao5vUF9k
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 26, 2022
Look the Part
Body language and communication with the players and other members of the officiating team is a really important part of refereeing and for this reason, while he largely got the important calls right, Adamson doesn’t inspire much confidence in me.
On more than one occasion the long pause – with no communication or signal to suggest he was waiting for advantage – between an offence happening and his whistle sounding told me that the touch judge or TMO spotted something he missed. While this is the purpose of a wired-up team of four, it happened too often for comfort and suggests Dickson’s positioning and ability to read play needs some work.
A good example of this came in the tenth minute when the commentators suggested he had reversed a scrum penalty initially signalled against Wales. My read of this situation was that in reality Adamson misheard the touch judge’s call and had to be corrected. Either way it looked terrible.
The calmness and poise with which the likes of Wayne Barnes or Jaco Peyper handle themselves sends a subliminal message that they are comfortable in the red-hot pressure of an international and totally in control. In truth this is sometimes probably not how they feel inside, but giving off this aura helps with their management of players in fractious situations and is something Adamson needs to develop.
Stick to being a No.8 Lawrence
Nigel Owens has joined the commentary team during the opening two rounds of games and by doing so ensured every decision was accurately explained.
However, there was no former World Cup final referee alongside Lawrence Dallaglio during the England v Wales game and as a result he twice got things badly wrong.
Shortly before half-time England attempted a lineout switch which ended with Courtney Lawes being driven by two teammates up the five-metre channel close to the visitors’ line. This pod of forwards was tackled by Wyn Jones and Wales won a penalty when Lawes failed to release.
“That’s a maul,” Dallaglio said and he went on to suggest it was collapsed illegally and that England should have been awarded the penalty. However, tackler Jones was the only Welsh player to make contact with the three England forwards so since he is not a bound-in, on-his-feet participant, only England players were in contact with the ball-carrier and a maul is not formed in law.
Social media has also jumped on Dallaglio’s closing-seconds commentary in which his verdict on the replay of Lawes’ one-hand knock-on was: “That’s a yellow card at any other time in the game so I don’t see why it isn’t now.”
Like most other offences, a deliberate knock-on can be adjudged worthy of more than a penalty depending on the match situation. If it stops a promising attacking move where space and numbers exist, or should it occur in deep defence close to a team’s own line, or following a sequence of previous penalties then a yellow card usually follows.
However, 60 metres from England’s line with plenty of defenders on their feet and no line-break or overlap likely to result it only resulted in a penalty. Much of the skill of refereeing is interpreting context – for example what constitutes advantage – and contrary to what Big Lol seems to believe there are very few offences which automatically trigger a card.
Perhaps the London Referees Society could send him an invitation to their next beginners’ law course…
England must have been decent when Clive Woodward, a frequent Eddie Jones critic, is full of praise. #England #GuinnessSixNations #ENGvWAL https://t.co/qznX9BI9jx
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 26, 2022
Management of the Scrum
Adamson deserves some praise for his handling of the scrum where his approach sorted out a potentially really problematic area.
After three scrums we had seen five resets, a free kick, two penalties and no clean possession. In commentary Nick Mullins wryly observed “this is what we have all come here to see.”
Adamson then warned both front rows and there were no further issues at the set-piece until the arrival of replacements saw the final three scrums of the match end with penalty awards.
Liam Williams Yellow Card
My only query regarding Williams’ yellow card involved the process by which MacNeice advised Adamson to take a look at an offence which he missed in real time.
To the letter of the TMO protocol, the man in the van may only get involved in foul play or an incident relating to a try. Since England were very close to the Wales line the second criteria was perhaps met, but either way there was no doubt that Williams’ action was cynical and in the red zone so the outcome was entirely merited.
On a point of detail, I thought the officials should have reset the sin bin clock, since immediately after the card was shown Tomos Francis required treatment before leaving the field for a head injury assessment. This meant 84 seconds of Williams’ ten minutes on the naughty step expired before play restarted.
Poacher turned Gamekeeper!
The only mildly controversial moment in France’s comfortable six-try win over Scotland came in the build-up to the visitors’ bonus-point clinching fourth try early in the second half.
France lock Cameron Woki was clearly on the wrong side but the ball emerged from the breakdown on Scotland’s side anyway and with possession seemingly not being slowed and Ali Price unhindered by Woki’s presence Dickson opted to play on.
Price clearly had other ideas, however, and attempted to make it appear that Woki had marginally impeded his progress from his position on the ground.
We then had the amusing spectacle of a former Harlequins scrum half loudly berating the current Scotland no.9 for “trying to ‘buy’ a penalty.” At least he didn’t get the reply “just like you always did!”
In truth, Woki would usually be penalised in the position he found himself, and had Price got on with the game and tried to use any advantage that Dickson subsequently called, this would probably have been the outcome.
However, his exaggeration clearly irritated Dickson, and with the need to preserve ‘rugby values’ currently a focus area for referees it is entirely possible that Price’s actions cost Scotland a penalty. Worse then followed as the British Lion ran up a blind alley, Scotland were turned over and France created a try with a breakaway down the right touchline.
PLAYER RATINGS: Can anyone stop Les Bleus? Going on this evidence, maybe not.
Paul Smith ??? rates the French players#GuinnessSixNations https://t.co/CbyxOVfAve
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 26, 2022
Jaminet Yellow Card?
The 26th minute collision between France’s Melvyn Jaminet and Scotland’s Sam Skinner occurred as the pair contested possession and the Murrayfield crowd howled for a card after replays showed the French full back made some contact with the Exeter lock in the air.
However, having viewed a TMO replay, Dickson determined that while Jaminet “had no chance to catch the ball” the force involved was minimal and therefore worthy of only a penalty.
It seems that slo-mo often makes collisions appear worse than they actually are and suggest more intent exists than is the case. Perhaps the TMO protocol could be adjusted so referees are required to view a real-time replay as well as various other angles and speeds before finalising their decision?
Comments on RugbyPass
He was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
36 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to comments