Referees out of line, say coaches

"All we want is consistency," Golden Lions coach Johan Ackermann said about the influence of rugby match officials.

Ackermann's statement echoes an ever-growing concern among many coaches.

Referees, linesmen and television match officials continue to be under the spotlight for decisions that sway the results of matches.

At Ellis Park at the weekend, the Lions surged from a 25-10 deficit to secure a 31-31 draw with Western Province, and it was a questionable refereeing decision that changed the course of the match early in the second half.

With 15 points still separating the two sides, fullback Marnitz Boshoff was tackled just short of the try line and WP centre Damian de Allende dived for the ball to prevent it from bring grounded.

Whistleman Jaco Peyper took the matter to TMO Willie Roos to check whether a try had been scored.

The TMO agreed that Boshoff had not grounded the ball for a try, but said that a penalty try should be awarded as De Allende had come in from the side, although no ruck had been formed, and the WP No12 had dived for the ball, not on the player.

The incident led to De Allende being sent to the sin bin and more points being scored by the Lions while WP played with 14 men.

"The penalty try was a bonus I did not expect," Ackermann said. "There were decisions that should have been dealt with. These are things that we definitely need to sort out."

WP coach Allister Coetzee felt this was the turning point in the game.

"The yellow card had a massive influence on the result. I don't want to say a lot about it but I feel, personally, that 14 points were gifted which had an influence on the result," said Coetzee.

"That [decision] should have been taken care of by the linesman. We should not be relying on TMO decisions. When one sees an infringement, a linesman should pick it up."

Ackermann said there were other areas of concern regarding decision-making by match officials, and he also questioned their levels of authority.

"I worry about the scrums, too, because there were some funny calls," he said.

"I don't know who carries the most authority because we could hear the touch judge tell the ref 'penalty to white' but he [the referee] ignored that and carried on . . . All we want is consistency."

Coetzee said he would talk to referee bosses this week and stressed the importance of working together with referees "to get it right".

"I will chat to Andre Watson and Mark Lawrence in the week. I think the whole idea is to work with these guys [the referees] to get it right.

"It's not a blame game. We have to make sure we improve every week. We should make sure that since we've got the technology, the right decisions are made," Coetzee said.