Ref not to blame for rugby's rules

Bald Facts

BY TONY SMITH

OPINION: Rugby's rules need a drastic overhaul if the sport is ever to match rugby league, Australian rules or football as a spectacle.

The Bledisloe Cup clash between the All Blacks and Wallabies was a gripping affair because of the closeness of the contest.

But do we really want to watch a whistlehappy ref blow up 28 penalties and freekicks? That's one every three minutes.

Don't blame Craig Joubert, entirely. He may have got a few wrong referees are human too, contrary to public opinion but he was simply enforcing the arcane rules of rugby, a sport surely devised by 19th century control freaks.

Isn't it infuriating to watch a player attempting a quick tap penalty after spotting a defensive chink to be pulled back because they were mere millimetres off the mark. And did Wycliff Palu really gain an unfair advantage from his tap penalty brain fade in the second half?

Joubert had to referee to the letter of the law or risk the wrath of his assessors.

The International Rugby Board is constantly evaluating the rules, which change as often as Ma'a Nonu's hairstyle.

Broadcaster Murray Deaker stridently argued on Sunday for the scrapping of the defensive mark inside the 22m area.

Having witnessed the drama that surrounds every bomb in rugby league, I tend to agree with one caveat. We would not want to see constant kicking in rugby union there's such a lot of it anyway. But what harm would there be in trialling it? There are rules in place already to protect players being tackled in the air.

But my pet peeve is the constant resetting of scrums. Was Joubert right to repeatedly blow up Australian tighthead Al Baxter for scrummaging skulduggery? Who knows. Wallabies skipper Stirling Mortlock admitted he had no idea of the dark arts indulged in by test front-rowers.

But if Baxter was such a serial offender, why wasn't he sin-binned? Referees need more help at scrum time.

Rugby league's two referees concept has been a qualified success. It should be trialled immediately in rugby union. It would be a huge asset to have two referees, one either side of the scrum.

It would be even better if the second referee was a former front-row forward. I'm sure Richard Loe could spot, in his sleep, who's the naughty boy at each and every scrum.

The refereeing administrators will no doubt argue that the touch judges can fulfil this role. But they are not close enough to the action.

The citing commissioner's powers should also be extended to cover flagrant cheating as well as foul play. Tapes should be reviewed to see if players are persistently cheating at scrums and breakdowns. A demerit points system similar to the one applying to miscreant motorists could be introduced. Players reaching a certain number of demerit points would be suspended for the next match.

Too harsh, you say? Isn't the game for the players? Not exclusively. Not when rugby unions charge big bucks to watch test matches and pay-per-view television charges are stretching household budgets.

The viewing public deserves better than stop-start fare.

Has Deans lost his mojo?Is Graham Henry suddenly a better coach than Robbie Deans or does he just have more player depth?

Some pundits have been quick to proclaim Henry as the cannier of the two after the All Blacks' second half revival to win the Bledisloe Cup test.

Henry does deserve acclaim for his 45th-minute injections of Owen Franks and Keven Mealamu to re-energise the tight five and the later addition of busy back-rower Kieran Read.

Deans had a reputation for smart substitutions in his Crusaders days. But maybe the mantle is slipping, based on a couple of last Saturday's changes.

It was also a big call to pitch 19-year-old James O'Connor into a Tri-Nations test. But that smacked as a move for the future. Deans may be looking more towards the 2011 World Cup. Perhaps he's prepared to sacrifice a game or two in his quest for the greater prize.

More worrying for Deans was the lack of impact made by Mortlock in midfield. The Wallabies' longtime strike weapon seemed to be used more as a decoy, leaving All Blacks midfielders Nonu and Conrad Smith an armchair ride on defence.

Deans took a punt by selecting three open-side flankers in his test squad. But he did not have much choice.

It was surprising, however, to see him replace the hobbling Brown with young open-sider David Pocock rather than Dean Mumm, who covers lock and No6. The All Blacks had upped the ante with their pack changes and Jerome Kaino and Brad Thorn were also playing with a physical intensity the Wallabies were struggling to match.

The Wallabies will be bigger and badder once Rocky Elsom a man who made Jerry Collins seem a softie by comparison is back in the No6 shirt.

Poor Excuse DeptDoes anyone really believe Magic skipper Jolene Henry's bleat that the Adelaide Thunderbirds won the ANZ Cup netball semifinal due to thuggery? Since when is thuggery worth 14 points?

- © Fairfax NZ News