I brought this article back for discussion after the first week of warm up games. Did the refereeing change your minds? Give us your opinions. I know we did not see all the games but from reports you can form a good idea how the Referees are blowing this year.
Rugby has undergone a major philosophical shift during the off-season with Sanzar’s referees driving changes in conjunction with the competition’s coaches.
Today’s preseason Super 14 match between the Hurricanes and Blues at Mangatainoka will be the first live test in New Zealand of new initiatives designed to restore the advantage to the attacking side and clean up the set piece.
New Sanzar referee’s manager Lyndon Bray has given The Dominion Post an exclusive insight into the first truly unified attempt between Sanzar’s players, coaches and officials to create a more free-flowing spectacle.
The key agreement is at the tackle where the tackler will no longer have unbridled rights to attack the ball, something players like McCaw have turned into a fine art.
“We’ve agreed philosophically to change what the tackler can and can’t do,” Bray said. “He is doing too much. We’ve allowed, in the evolution of the game, to let him remain in contact with the ball and ball carrier after he leaves his feet and he stays on the ball and jumps up and rips it away.
“It looks great in the one-on-one scenario, but it’s actually against the law. It creates in the game a repetitive scenario where the ball carrier ends up with no rights because he can’t do anything with the ball.
“The tackler inevitability gets the penalty which philosophically goes against what we are trying to achieve. We’ve agreed the tackler must release everything when he goes to ground and not hold on as he gets to his feet.”
The upshot will be more time for the tackled player to either pop the ball away to a support player or to place it back away from his body.
Players not making a clean release after the tackle and getting fully to their feet before going for the ball will be penalised.
Bray said the change was not just window dressing and was part of a unified approach to improve the game as a spectacle that is expected to be introduced in Europe for the Six Nations or the Heineken Cup.
The seeds of change were planted during a meeting last year between the referees and three coaches representing the Super 14 teams – Todd Blackadder (Crusaders), Rassie Erasmus (Bulls) and David Nucifora (Brumbies).
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“We came up collectively with the fact that we had to create a greater ownership for changes in behaviour and essentially that was around the technique used at the tackle and at scrum time,” Bray said. “We agreed that if we carried on doing the workshops we had in the past and came up with decisions on the run that the onus always came back to the guy in the middle with the whistle.
“We decided that wasn’t going to cut the mustard for 2010. We said we had to listen to the criticism of where our game is at and we have to produce a cleaner and more attractive spectacle.
“If our reason for existence is to have one of the best competitions in world rugby then we have to recreate time and space on the field and recreate the attack with confidence that we used to have in Super 14 … it means more control from the ball carrier and more control for the attacking team.”
The other major change is at scrum time where poor technique and illegal tactics have become a blight on the game. Three national scrum coaches – Mike Cron (NZ), Pat Noriega (AUS) and Balie Swart (SA) – will now monitor their respective country’s five franchises.
“If the Hurricanes scrum for example have poor technique or use a poor tactical technique in week one to disrupt the scrum we will be going in privately and saying you have a problem and we will use Mike Cron to deliver the message, which gives it teeth,” Bray said.
“We will expect a change of behaviour from them. If they don’t deal with it then we have the right and permission from teams to go public.”
The same consequences will apply to referees who are deemed to have got their interpretation wrong.
Changing Tack
Lyndon Bray will front a united Sanzar team of referees to monitor performance and interpretation during the Super 14 Coaches and players have agreed to a change of philosophy around the policing of the tackle and scrum.
The aim is to produce cleaner ball for attacking teams.
The tackler will no longer have unlimited rights to go for the ball.
The tackler must release the tackled player completely and get to their feet before they can go for the ball.
Scrum techniques will be monitored by a Sanzar panel of scrum coaches, Mike Cron (NZ), Pat Noriega (AUS) and Balie Swart (SA).
Offenders will get a remedial lesson from their country’s scrum coach.
Repeat offenders will be exposed publicly.
This will not only affect McCaw, even Brussouw will be blown appart by this law.
This might change it totally for HB, remember his upper body strength is now not necessary. He must first leave the ball. Will be a mess in the first few games i guess.
Wat my pla is dat die ref hulle sal blaas as hulle te vinnig op hulle voete is en vir die bal veg. Die refs vat gewoonlik in elk geval ‘n sekond of twee om daar uit te kom.
So vir hulle sal dit wees as of die tackler nooit gelos het nie.
Ek voel nog steeds daar is te veel reels by die afbreekpunt, dit was baie beter destyds toe jy nog ‘n speler kon uithaal met die stewel.
Richie koop in elk geval die refs om vir ‘n free for all by die afbreek punte. Hy kan dam lekker kroek. 🙄
Volg jy bietjie die krieket?
Ja, ek geniet krieket. Raak net vies vir ons ouens wat so onderpresteer.
Daar is tans n semi finaal aan die gang tussen die Warriors en die Cape Cobras. Warriors het 274/4 in 40 beurte gemaak, Cobras nou 9/0 na 1.1 beurt
Titans speel teen julle, kan nie op jul naam kom nie. More dink ek.
Kallis het baie goed gekolf teen sy ou spanmaats. 274 is heelwat, maar weet nie of Warriors die boulers het om al die Cobras se goeie kolwers uit te boul nie.
Twee boulbeurte en Smith het nog nie ‘n bal geface nie. En sy partner het al 15.
bdb – Druk kan kolwers snaakse dinge laat doen.
Ja die dolfyne het ook maar net die semis gehaal. Die Titans behoort te sterk te wees vir hulle.
naand bdb,
sien Makaya boul
Sal graag die Cobras se kolforde (Smith, Gibbs, Duminy, Kemp) wil sien teen die Titans se boulaanval (Steyn, Morkel, Harris, vd Merwe)
Naand Super en Snoek.
Ntini is die Warriors se eie Albert vd Berg 😉
12
Snoek krieket is erg onvoorspelbaar. Titans se sterre kan vinnig 3/4 uit wees , dan is dit n total ander bal game.
Ek is bevrees Ntini het een jaar te lank aangehou. hy was baie goed vir SA, nou moet hy die regte loopbaan besluite neem of sy hele status word geknou.
Smith dink dit is ‘n vyfdag toets en Puttick dink dit is ‘n 20/20 !
17: stem, hoop regtig nie dieselfde gebeur met John Smit nie, want hy is ‘n groot sportman.
ja ou John het te groot geword in die span verband, die geloof is nou dat niemand anders kaptein kan wees nie. Maar miskien kan ons soos in 95 steeds die WB wen al is ons kaptein meer daar vir sy kapteinskap as sy spel. Ruben/Pienaar
Die enigste ding wat nog vir Smit by rugby hou is die 2011 WB. Ek dink as dit nie vir dit was nie sou hy nou player / coach iewers in Europa gewees het.
Snoek ek sien julle het Alberts gekies , steur julle nie aan strooi nie. Moet se die Lions is nou net spitefull. Hulle wil hom nie he nie, wil nie met n tang aan hom raak nie….
Smith uit boul tsotsobe vang Boje. 9 lopies.
Ntini word gem@#r, shame het die Kaapenaars nie respekte nie
Ek weet nie of die Sharks hierdie ding reg hanteer nie. Ek sou die spelers aanse om eers hulle huis in orde te kry voordat hulle by die Sharks aansluit.
Maar daar is soveel stories wat rondle dat mens nie regtig weet wat aangaan nie.
Hoe moeilik kan dit nou wees om die twee unies om een tafel te kry en die probleem op te los. Ek verstaan nie aldag hierdie dinge nie.
Goeie Naand Folks, just popping in before the ‘Lad’s Night’ I am going to……
Northampton Saints v Munster (on TV, not to the match sadly)!! Hoping Jean De Villiers performs for me!!
So sal Ntini nie weer vir die blommetjies speel nie. Dit lyk nie goed nie.
I am a hounourary ‘Bloke’ for the night!! 😉
Hi Carol
How’s the weather?
Bit like here really!!
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