Kings tune in to ref’s whistle
PRO14 franchise call in experts to help with interpretations, problem areas
There is a four letter word beginning with an R that is giving the Isuzu Southern Kings players and coaches restless nights.
Referees and the Kings have not been seeing eye to eye, and this has resulted in a plan of action being devised to get both parties on the same page.
Matters reached a head when the Kings had 22 penalties awarded against them during their Guinness PRO14 clash against Ulster in Port Elizabeth earlier in the season.
Kings coach Deon Davids is loathe to talk about referees after defeats, but he mentioned the R-word after the Ulster game which was blown by Scottish referee Sam Grove-White.
“In the scrums we felt we were a bit on the unlucky side not being rewarded, but to get a penalty against us sometimes,” Davids said.
“Those things are frustrating because they influence the flow of the game and it also gets to the mental side of the game.
“It affects the way you think about the next phase of the game and the execution in terms of what you can do.”
Davids is not the only brought up the R-word.
Edinburgh Richard Cockerill recently bemoaned the standard of officiating in the PRO14 after his team after beat Connacht.
“We always differ in terms of certain interpretations,” Davids said.
“What we have done was to get in Mark Lawrence and Stuart Berry who work for SA coach who has Rugby and also with the PRO14 to look at our game and areas that we can improve in. So they were here in Port Elizabeth and we had an in-depth look at where we need to improve.
“We also wanted to get a background of the referees and their culture. Referees from different countries look differently at certain things.
“The Kings have to understand how referees react and what their focus areas are. So we have made a concerted effort to better understand them and for them to look at the way we do stuff so we can improve in areas where we concede so many penalties.
“This will all help our game going forward. We also have a local referee who comes in once a week to focus in on areas to see whether there is improvement.’’
Kings captain JC Astle also has a plan action for dealing with refs.
“It has been tough with the referees and we have been the team that has been penalised the most. So we are struggling a bit with the referees,” Astle said.
“As captain I would like to have a good chat with the referee so we can have trust in each other. He can trust me with my team and vice verse and try and make the 50/50 calls go our way. To get that bond with the referee is quite important.”
PRO14's elite referee manager Greg Garner says work was ongoing to improve the standard of refereeing in the league.
“The vision is that we want world-class officiating within the PRO14 from all our unions,” says Garner, who refereed 16 Tests, 40 European games and 120 Premiership contests. of