Barnes and Pearson get Rugby World Cup call
By RFU Press Release
April 9 2011
WAYNE BARNES and Dave Pearson have been selected to referee at the Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand in September and October. The English pair are included in a panel of 10 referees for the 48 matches and will be joined by assistant referee Stuart Terheege and television match official Graham Hughes.
|
||||||
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.
Bryce Lawrence only made the list because they had to have a kiwi ref in there somewhere, even though he is by far, the worst. Let's just pray they don't give him an England match. Kaplan's inclusion is equally baffling. Rolland, Poite and maybe Owens and Barnes are probably the best around, in that order. There are some very poor officials in the southern hemisphere.
Crouch, touch, fall down
Quote:NZHerald
The rest of the world might want to convince themselves that the referees were spot on in November because the All Blacks really do cheat. But that doesn't stack up.
Every penalty awarded against New Zealand came on the opposition put-in. On their own ball they were rock steady, usually getting that vital nudge forward. If they were in control on their own ball (where their hooker has to strike and not push), why would they be in so much trouble on the opposition put-in where they could pressure with all eight men?
In every game, the All Blacks scored more tries than their opponents, looked to use the ball whenever they had it and had an obviously positive approach. To believe they were belligerently negative on the opposition put-in doesn't make sense. All Black assistant coach Steve Hansen says the only solution at the moment is for his team to not push.
"We are very frustrated with the officiating and we will have to go away and try and move on," he said in Cardiff. "The answer is don't put pressure on, just let them win their ball. We will stop trying to put pressure on the opposition scrum so they stay up.We want to put pressure on them, but if they fall over all the time, we're getting penalised.
"We are not getting penalised on our own ball, it's only when we put pressure on the opposition ball. We've tried talking to the referees, we have tried everything, but we're not making any headway.
"We're going to have to use the summer months to put our heads together and come up with a solution."
Someone in officialdom is going to have to listen or there is a danger the World Cup will be remembered for 16 big blokes lying in a heap. The frustration will be intense, especially as the game has cured most of its other ills.
They are saying that the only way not to be penalised is to not push at the opposition put in. And that is the reality of making union scrums more like league ones. Isn't that good?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:04:13:11:19:44 by Rarua.
Poite is a danger with scrums. He takes a view and goes with it regardless.
Rolland is useless in my opinion, he doesn't manage the breakdown. Would prefer Lewis from an Irish perspective. Our two are the best in my opinion, followed by Owens. The SH refs can't even use their whistles properly!
We have to remember that it is very difficult, and all are doing the best, and are the top of their profession. Excessive criticism is generally unwarranted. In theory anyway. In practice it is difficult not to. They all have their own favourite decisions and areas; just a case of who you prefer.
Consistency across the different nations shouldn't be as difficult as it appears.