Bad refs a growing concern

Blowing the whistle on poor refereeing might be front of mind in the rugby world at the moment, but the All Blacks aren't even talking about it.

"No," was All Blacks flyhalf Aaron Cruden's curt response when asked if the recent poor decisions, especially in the Rugby Championship, have become a topic of conversation in the camp.

"There is a lot of pressure on referees," Cruden said. "They go out to perform to the best of their ability. They are human and they often make the call in a split second. They make it on what they see. For us it's about taking it out of the refs' hands to make sure the result is a positive one for us."

Asked whether he'd be in favour of the wider application of technology to aid referees, Cruden was firm. "Personally, no. The refs are there for a job. They've been picked for a reason."

The reason the All Blacks don't share the widely held view that refereeing decisions have become a blight on the sport has nothing to do with their relative geographical isolation as a country, but rather that they are benefiting from the system as it stands.

The All Blacks profited from highly contentious decisions in their match against Argentina at the weekend, while the Springboks counted the cost of losing Bryan Habana to a yellow card against the Wallabies.

Often, too, the inaction of referees can have a devastating effect. The Springboks also felt aggrieved that referee George Clancy failed to penalise the Wallabies for their nefarious tactics used in breaking up South Africa's much-vaunted maul in Perth.

The Wallabies resorted to either joining in from the side, or sacking the maul after it was set.

Former All Blacks scrumhalf Justin Marshall lamented the standard of refereeing in his most recent newspaper column, while the usually one-eyed Australian commentators didn't spare the Irishman Clancy.

Richie Gray, the Springboks' straight-talking breakdown consultant, was surprisingly conciliatory. "Maybe you have to feel sorry for the guys who are stuck with the whistles and the flags. The game is only going to become faster.

"The game is going to be more physical because conditions are getting better, defensive and attack systems are going to get better. Everything is getting faster. It is so tight.

"The players are going at 100 miles an hour and the man in the middle must have eyes in the back of his head. Everybody is pushing the boundaries to try to get that extra 1% ."

Recognising you have a problem is always a healthy first step.

Former All Blacks lock Ian Jones last night added his voice to the debate on the television show Breakdown.

"These are game-defining calls from the referee. Are we hearing from the referees? What is the IRB doing about this?

"Where is the accountability from all these people? These questions need to be asked. We need to hear from them," demanded Jones.