Refs, who needs 'em? How captains and not referees once called the shots
Having referees and needing them as we do is another bit of proof of the existence of original sin, man’s propensity to get things wrong – writes Paul Dobson for Rugby 365.
Dear Adam was full of innocence, till the snake came along. Rugby set out in similarly hopeful innocence till its snake reared its nasty head.
When first they played from village to village or from house to house, there were no rules to govern what happened and as a result this “game” was subject to the riot act and banned by successive kings of England – 31 times in about 300 years. But then it moved onto school fields, most notably the school in the Warwick shire town of Rugby.
Then the game garnered rules and the possible infraction of those rules was decided by the captains of the day, who had been responsible for deciding which rules (later called laws) would apply for that particular match.
This proved not to be enough. The games then acquired umpires – a word from the Old French nonper, not partial, which became in English noumper, numpire, and a numpire became an umpire as a narange became an orange.
If the captains could not agree, they could refer to the umpires. If they did not agree, they would then go off and state their case to a venerable gentleman in a wicker chair. They would refer the matter to him and so he became called the referee – the one referred to.
This all took time. The great Fairy Heatlie, captain of the first South African team to win a Test, the man who gave them the green jersey, the man who was the captain the first time South African won a series, a great man, stressed the need to select a good debater on a team to argue his team’s point in disputes of this nature.
It went even further. If players could not agree they would refer the matter to the organising body, but when it came to international matches there was no organising body to refer to. When the Scots objected to a try which England claimed Richard Kindersley, they had nobody to refer to and refused to play Perfidious Albion again. Eventually the try was tried by three Irish judges. This process led to the formation of the International Rugby Board (IRB) whose original task was the formation and management of the Laws of the Game.
That was in 1889. In 1892 they scrapped the umpires and praised the venerable man out of his wicker chair and moved him out onto the field, telling the rugby world that he was the sole judge of fact and law, thus ending the disputes, causing Heatlie to exclaim: “Thanks be for small mercies!”
Not only, it seems, did this give rugby somebody to make decisions but it also gave rugby a scapegoat.
Everybody playing or watching a game of rugby will take sides, ie want one team to beat the other. There more interest there is in the match, the greater the desire for a particular team to win. If that team gets beaten, the supporter has two options – admit that the other team was better or turn on the scapegoat – the referee, in the belief that it is impossible for a man to be impartial and not to use his power in favour of one team or another. It is the loser’s lament – We played against 16 men.
Former referee Paul Smith says abuse of officials is filtering down to lower levels and referees are becoming increasingly despondent. https://t.co/ADe9GiPDXJ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 24, 2020
I used it when I was nine and my father gave me a lecture in sportsmanship. I have not used it since. Though he is 60 but just as childish, Eddie Jones used it the other day when Ben O’Keeffe refereed the team he was coaching. But, it seems, nobody gave him the salutary lecture my father gave me.
More’s the pity.
Tom Canterbury said: “The trouble with referees is that they just don’t care which side wins.”
Eddie Jones would not have said that, and he would not be alone, but in fact Tom Canterbury is really close to the truth.
Thanks be for referees!
Imagine going back to the pre-referee days.
Comments on RugbyPass
A lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
3 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.
1 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…??? 🤑🤑🤑
2 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
2 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)
3 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?
2 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.
21 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
21 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 comments