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'We have to endure it': How referees are handling criticism
Refereeing decisions have dominated headlines in the rugby world of late and with the recent Rugby Championship decided by historically slim margins, the emphasis on those calls has only increased according to one of the Worlds top Refs.
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Ben O’Keeffe appeared on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod and had a lot to say about how laws are being implemented and how the general rugby public interact with that change.
He also touched on the potential of referee post match interviews and mental skills help.
“It seems to ramp up every year,” O’Keeffe said of the scrutiny his colleagues face. “Especially now that we’re heading into a World Cup and everyone’s being competitive.
“You look at the Rugby Championship and teams are winning by within five points so the one-off calls that referees are making are under the microscope even more.
“Also, we went through a change with the head contact process which saw more red and yellow cards in Super Rugby, you know, us trying to create an understanding of why we were doing that, so people were getting on board there too.
“While there are big changes it also shows that people are just pretty passionate about rugby and having a say too which as a referee, we love.
“It just takes time, for example, when all the (higher ups) that make the laws and what they’re going to change and what they see the future of rugby looking like, until you actually implement it on the field, you don’t understand, what’s the parameters that’s going to happen when the referee actually goes out and blows it, what’s actually the outcomes when a player makes those tackles.
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“So I think it takes a few trial seasons and what I’m glad about is that we’ve started this trial process 12, 18 months before this next World Cup.
“I guess rugby happens and laws happen in World Cup cycles, they can’t go and change things within certain windows, so unfortunately we have to endure it as we start it but it gets better every few games in, as referees, as players start to adapt, as coaches start to coach what those priorities are and I think we do get a better outcome in the end, it just takes a bit of time.
Referees have come under a huge amount of criticism and abuse online, Mathieu Raynal’s time wasting penalty on Bernard Foley captivated a huge audience and it was only when footage of the full incident leaked days later that the media storm calmed.
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“We do have mental skills help in the background,” O’Keeffe continued. “Especially in New Zealand Rugby, we have that resource but we’re lucky that New Zealand Rugby provides that, I don’t think every union in the world has that.
“That mental side of it’s really critical and especially I think, you know 2019 World Cup coaches start getting stuck into referees, I think the next one, 2023 just with the margin of error being so small with how competitive all the teams are, there’s going to be a lot of focus on refereeing decisions.
Last week on the podcast, Panelist James Parsons revealed that in his discussions for the New Zealand Players Association, referees had expressed interest in their own post match interviews.
O’Keeffe was all for an opportunity to help educate the rugby public, but said post match would be too soon to give comprehensive answers.
“It takes about 24 to 48 hours for us to sit down, go through the game, talk with our coaches and actually come to a decision of whether we were right or wrong.
“I wouldn’t mind every Wednesday, talking through one to three things that happened in my game, to better explain it to the public, even if it was small, they just wanted to know my tackle process ‘ok what does a tackler have to do when they’re at the back of the ruck, why when they’re stuck in there is it still a penalty?’ Because often players complain about that.
“There are big decisions, high impact decisions in the game that go unanswered and they kind of just get lost in the ether.
“We’re always open to putting our hands up when we’re wrong but also open to putting our hands up to explain why this decision was right.
Comments on RugbyPass
Will 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..
2 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.
2 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.)
2 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.
28 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?
1 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.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to comments