Rugby Referees !!

What is it with the referees in the Super 14 and for that matter, in other competitions as well? They just cannot maintain standards at any given time. If you look at the impact a referee can have on a game of rugby, it can actually be so much that a "winning" team can eventually lose, given the double standards applied, even in one single game. In saying that I am implying that a referee can allow advantage and space to a team for a long period of time while the same referee allows little to no advantage time or even space to the opposing team; that is definitely biased decision making. Obviously hard to prove, but just watch some games and decide for yourself.

I have even observed this in matches between teams that I don't even follow. The understanding and application of certain laws in the game of rugby by referees, can be so far apart, that it negatively influences a whole game of rugby.

One referee can interpret a law in one game, which allows a team to play their "natural negative" game, and in the next game another referee interprets the same law differently, so much so that the same team actually thinks the referee does not know how to handle a match.

There is simply no consistency in rugby matches at all, with particular reference to the referees. The easy way out for any person is to tell me that I should stop fussing about referees because I could not do a better job. They are quite right about me not doing the referee job at all, that is what the referees are paid a stack of dough for.

There should be a panel that actually judges each referee during matches and should offer positive criticism after the rugby matches. That would certainly assist in bringing some sort of consistency to the game. Just watch a few more rugby games and concentrate on the different interpretations of the different referees and decide for yourself, before passing judgement on these comments.