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.
Then you must behave like bloke and drink beer tonight.
Snoek, to be honest the weather here ‘sucks’. Pitch black and rain coming sideways!!
Now you will tell me you are going to braai in the summer sun tomorrow!! 🙁
32 – Actually yes, going to sleep over with my boy tomorrow at the dam. Some fishing and braaing.
GBS will confirm I like beer, however I have said I will drive tonight!! In this country we are pretty good about not drinking and driving!
OK I will have one! 😆
Snoek, the fishing and camping thing sounds like heaven….(ok perhaps not the fishing bit)!! 😀
I had a boating accident last weekend, torn some muscle in my neck. So me and my stiff neck will have to behave tomorrow. Even have a picture of the accident.
Drink and drive is a big problem in SA. Need to be on the lookout after hours when driving in SA.
OK JDV here I come, ready or not…..
See you about guys, have a great weekend….
If you see my Titanium Afrikaaans Broer tell him I said ‘Hi’…..
Hoe die blink kant bo…
Cheers Carol.
Carol enjoy and behave
Ek gaan nou eers bietjie koffie soek.
Oi… my assistant, old Jan, his father had a heart attack today…. shambles at his house…. loaned him my car for the night and tomorrow morning, seeing as his car is in for gearbox repairs…
Rough day here at the Office in the “Panne”…. I should actually have gone through to Pretoria early tonight to go sort out PC stuff for my brother…. just cannot do it, Jan’s father is more important for now…. I will schlep myself over tomorrow to an angry bro tomorrow afternoon….
You have a good heart GBS. Nice to give your car to the man.
Cape Cobras 79/3 (14.1/40 ov)
nou kyk nou hier die hot favorites het hulle hande vol met Bouch se spannetjie.
44@ SuperBul – Damn, ek was amper GLADNIE op die blog die laaste paar dae nie…. die kalf was ernstig in die put met net eenvoudig ‘n mooooooooooooosa stroom werk….
Ek wil net rus vanaand… net rus… maar heellaas…. daar’s dinge wat moet klaar…
Hoe sê sommiges hier in die land….. “Die werk raak nie klaar nie, die man raak klaar!”
Dink ek moet ‘n ernstige dop gooi…. en ‘n rustige sigaretjie geniet….
My vrou sien my nie die laaste tyd nie… ons raak vreemdelinge vir mekaar…. sal moet my lewe verander, dis nie reg so nie.
Terug by die rugby
Ek dink die enigste “loosie” wat gaan bo uitkom met die reels is juis Brussow. Hy is moers vinnig op sy voete. Maar dit gaan ander spek in die spel inbring waarna ek uitsien. Die flanke gaan moet twee twee saam jag, een tackle en een steel die bal. Kan julle julself indink met Scalla en Brussow saam? Scalla tackle soos gewoonlik en Brussow is dadelik by om die bal te steel.
Gaan lekker wees.
Jis jong jy moet maar bietjie wegbreek vir so een aandjie of twee na Dullstroom of hier. Voor die rugby begin, dan gaan jy heeltemal MIA wees.
KP ek sien jou mail , ja jong ons almal het high hopes. Maar die stilbly taktiek van jou maak my sien jy het tog iets by ons Bulle geleer. Ek moet se die Lions ondersteuners met ED voor is moer baie optimisties. Amper fanaties. Hel laasjaar het ons almal nog DM gekasty maar nou is hy die redder.
47@ Koningkie – Ek stem saam, ek dink ook die dae van die “Alleenbaljagter” is verby….. dit sal maklik lei na 2 tipiese “Brussow-tipe” flanke in 1 span…. beide sal aansienlik MOET speel soos oopkantflanke…. en hakers soos Bissie en Tiaan en selfs ‘n ou soos Derick Kuun van die Bulls sal baat vind by die tipe spel, want hulle is self goeie baljagters…. swaarder en stadiger hakers wat nie kan double-up as fetchers nie sal nie so maklik verkiesword nie.
Die dae van rondhangers en in die agterlyn boer, a la Langbek en Big Vic…. met hulle sal een van 2 dinge gebeur…. of hulle gaan MEER uithang in die wyer kanale om ook bal te kan jag…. of andersins sal hulle bereid moet wees om BAIE meer betrokke te wees by losgemale sodat die jagters vryer kan wees om te beweeg sodra die bal uit is….
Hoop maar nie die spel word n los getjommel nie. Kyk die hele beweegrede is glo om die spel vinniger en meer aantreklik te maak. Maar ek het n harde skrum en n goeie rolmaal net so geniet soos n lekker vleuel drie.
51@ SuperBul – Ek is al van lankal af ‘n voorstander daarvan dat losgemaal reels eenvoudiger moet word, nie meer tegnies soos nou juis die geval is nie.
Die een belangrike reel wat ek sou terugbring is om beheersde “rucking” met die bootse toe te laat… geen bogger gaan oorval en bal dan vertraag nie, want hy sal seerkry, die bootse op vingers sal ‘n ou ook keer om met die hande te grawe daar waar hy nie moet of mag nie…. maar heellaas, dit sal nie gebeur nie.
Puma is jy hier , die Cobras wys nou weer hoe onvoorspelbaar krieket is. Hulle sukkel maar
53 – Super, Yes here boet, Just back from dinner. Don’t have the tv on. Will go and see.
Did you see Oz against Paki today in the odi? Just watched a bit of it. Not sure if it was a repeat or what. Just turned it on and seem to see the highlights of the Pakistan batting. So not sure how that ended.
Been such a hectic day for me. Hardly been near the pc or tv.
i did not watch the Pakis but i know the result, you want it?
Super, See they need 117 off 79 balls. Could still do it if they don’t lose any more wickets.
55 – Super, Yip why not. Did Oz win it? Ricky looked a bit smug at one stage after running one of them out.
did you hear any rumors about Frans Steyn lately?
Aus won by 5 wickets , Clarke got a ton. just heard it on the radio during my very very hot day. Watch my new lion pictures on Picasa.
59 is wrong
Brisbane – A superb century by Cameron White steered Australia to a five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the first of five one-day internationals at the ‘Gabba, Brisbane, on Friday.
Australia lost their openers quite quickly in the chase, and when skipper Ricky Ponting departed with the score on 84, the hosts needed someone to stand up to the challenge as they chased Pakistan’s total of 274 all out.
That man turned out to be White, and together with Michael Clarke (58) the pair added 102 runs for the fourth wicket before the latter managed to run himself out – calling for a single that was not on.
Man of the match White stayed cool and collected, and paired up with Michael Hussey for another half-century partnership, before bringing up only his second ODI ton off 85 deliveries.
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