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The extraordinary extra distances now being run by Premiership referees compared to 10 years ago

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)

English-based referee JP Doyle – the Dubliner who has been contracted full-time by the RFU since 2010 – has shed light on how much the demands on an official’s fitness have increased during his decade officiating in the Gallagher Premiership.

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Doyle, who first became a referee in 2002, has officiated in Premiership finals, Six Nations championships and World Cups, turns 41 in August and he revealed on The Lockdown, the RugbyPass pandemic interview series, just how much more ground he and his fellow officials now cover compared to ten years ago. 

Speaking with Jim Hamilton, the ex-Scotland and Saracens second row with whom he would have had on-pitch dealings with, referee Doyle explained: “The game is now so quick. When I started in the Premiership in 2009, I guess I covered about four-and-a-half kilometres in a game. 

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RFU referee JP Doyle guests on the latest edition of The Lockdown, the RugbyPass pandemic interview series

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RFU referee JP Doyle guests on the latest edition of The Lockdown, the RugbyPass pandemic interview series

“Now there are games where I have broken the 10kms barrier. I’ve only done that one or two times but you can cover 10kms in a game. The stoppages are now longer in a game but the ball in play is higher so you get less plays in a game. 

“Maybe there used to be 150 plays in a game but now people knock it on less, there is better continuity, so maybe there are 80 plays in a game but the ball in play has gone up. So you can easily have five or six 20, 30 phase (plays) in a game. 

“The way players move nowadays, they do a lot of dropping back, stay in pods, stay in position. They actually don’t run that much more than they used to. But if you move the ball across the pitch like at Gloucester or even an England – look at how much England use the kick pass, for example – you have to cover that distance so it might be just running across the pitch, not up and down it, but you can cover very big distances. 

“Now if you are fatigued at any stage you’re going to make bad decisions… the fitness now is huge. I’m a bit of a CrossFit lifter so I would do CrossFit every day and I would do a Watt bike or a run or a sprint session or some sort of resistance work on top of that. I would do two sessions a day six times a week and then one big session a week. I would try and do between nine and twelve hours of training a week, so about 50 hours a month is what I would allocate myself for.”

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Asked who are the fittest referees on the RFU’s books, Doyle included himself in a top-five that can chalk up impressive times for the infamous bronco shuttle running challenge.  

“There is a group at the top and we have all got our different strengths depending on what activity you put us in. You have Christophe Ridley, Tom Foley, Karl Dickson, myself and Craig Maxwell-Keys would probably be the five that are fittest and can run good bronco times. 

“We’re not Beauden Barrett, running 4.10, but some of the guys would break 4.30. Christophe Ridley would run 4.20, maybe a bit better. Craig Maxwell-Keys the same,” he said before naming some players whose engines most impress him.  

“I’m always so impressed with your really big guys, your Makos, the Marlers, your Ellis Genges, your Kyle Sincklers who have this unbelievable repeatable engine for 60 minutes in a game, but not only that but week to week to week.

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“They can play against Saracens one week and against the All Blacks the next and then go out and play Toulouse two weeks later and really play 60 (hard) minutes of all those games… I’m in the game a long time and I’m shaking my head going, ‘Oh my lord, with some of the contacts’. 

“Each year it steps up. The players aren’t getting so much bigger, but how hard they hit each other gets bigger and bigger.”

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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