When will they ever learn…?
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Kandy SC had to bite the dust - Pic by Amila Gamage
Infamous decisions of referees continue to linger in the memory and the one most talked about is the goal scored by Diego Maradona at the 1986 Football World Cup. Memories of World Cup Rugby include the ‘forward pass’ missed by Wayne Barnes in 2007 and the wrong call in 2015 by Craig Joubert, in awarding a penalty. Whether the referee missed the simple issues of the game in front or, people think you missed, is the topic of postmortems.
Army SC beat Kandy SC, but few talk that Army deserved to win. A victory was on the cards with two minutes left as Kandy kept infringing in front of the hindmost foot. What was Army trying to achieve as they kept on picking and hitting, with minutes left turning into seconds. What was working in their mind?
To gain ground and try to increase the lead or, to steal a penalty as Kandy kept vigil on the sides on the border of breaking the law. Finally, they got the right thing (win) but not whistled the right way, as debated.
To referee the game in front of you is important. The art and style depends to a great extent on what the players present. Most penalties are at the tackle, ruck and maul (TRM) and around 70% of the total. The TRM is a picture of the culture of the game. The point to moot is about blocking the flow. The bigger picture is the culture of cheating at the breakdown. While the penalties are high, there is much that is not penalised. Cheating – because not releasing, going to ground and hands in the ruck or infringing around the breakdown is done purposely.
The disagreement is about charging a kick and penalising is wrong. A penalty was on the cards but the explanation seemed awry. Few talk about from where the charge started or a previous try in the 74th minute, which looked a triple roll. Opinion is divided among newsmakers. There was a try is what some say. Others draw a line on a still photograph and talk of an offside. The bigger picture beginning around the 78th minute is a different story. A possible deliberate ‘knock-on’ in the process of an attempted interception, as the ball nestled into the bosom of an Army player.
Watch the referee talking to a player and another, who was possibly the player who ‘knocked on’ at the attempted interception. Is that the deliberate ‘knock-on’, as in the law? Again, look where the player is ‘on his mark’, way in front of the hindmost foot. Invasion of crowds, as well as officials of the bench walking to the referee, never helps in this chaotic moment. infringing around the breakdown not whistled in the game in front, results in issues becoming more complex and possibly, will need a full bench to decide, whereas the decision would have been much simple.
With debate on social media, there is much circulated with clips that would support your point and reaches to pointing fingers, forgetting the bigger picture and the culture. Use of smart phones is a feature of the modern world. People have access to the Apps. News and opinions travel fast. A wrong gesture to what might be a correct call sends an incorrect message.
People use Apps to help them with maps and translations. Show and ask people. Rugby players are no strangers to smart phones. The twist in the tale is when you ask for copulation from a breeding Chinese female using a translator App. Did she look like the ‘pick me up’ App widely used in Sri Lanka to hail a taxi? Otherwise, surmise that like a taxi, the meter will clock and you pay when you get off.
Proceeding to nestle the creature around the shoulders and drop hands and slip down to the fleshy parts on which a person sits. Not once, but twice, probably thinking that behaving like a ‘Lothario’ will impress the minions following him. It only ended in a fracas of sexual harassment.
When Havelock’s played Navy there were 28 penalties, with 20 at the TRM. Of this, 13 were in the 2nd half, of which 12 were after the 20th minute. As the game ages and fight goes on with a tired body, this could be part of the methodology to craft a win. Then Sri Lanka will have to pay a price when playing international Rugby. If the game is to improve for competition; coaches and match officials need to sit together and address the issues at the breakdown.
In a published Match Commissioner Report on the Kandy vs Army match, mention has been made about the vituperative behavior of a foreigner. Probably, the man in a striped blazer and this is not the first time that officials have had to bear with his low mouth-piecing and abrasive language. A spud cleaner in a tuxedo is still a spud cleaner, but must understand there are children and females around.
Vimal Perera is a former Rugby Referee, Coach and an Accredited Referees’ Evaluator IRB