Hooper: We need clarity on refereeing directives

ENGLAND’S breakdown woes have their roots in how differently the Premiership is refereed compared to other competitions, according to Bath’s performance director Stuart Hooper.

Former second row Hooper reveals that Bath, in common with other Premiership clubs, reduced the amount of training they did around the contact area last season in response to revised refereeing interpretations which diminished the contest at the breakdown.

Premiership sides subsequently struggled in Europe, while England, both senior and U20s, have failed to cope against Ireland, Wales, South Africa and France, whose breakdown specialists benefit from domestic referees who still allow a heavier contest.

Hooper told TRP: “If you look across the Premiership last season there was an emphasis on teams who kept hold of the ball because our games were refereed that way.

“There wasn’t a huge amount of challenging at the breakdown so teams that kept the ball for decent amounts of time, with Exeter probably the extreme of that, got rewarded.

“That conditions teams across the year to take it out of their training and not practise it, and then all of a sudden you get to a stage in England where possession is the absolute king.

“But when you then drop into international and European windows, it’s difficult to adapt. Just look at Leinster? Their work at the breakdown is incredible and Exeter, who dominated possession here, really struggled when they played them back-to-back.

“Our referees were working to directives but how those directives are being communicated by different bodies around the world, I’m not sure.”

With Bath having been paired with champions Leinster in their Champions Cup Pool, Hooper added: “We need clarity across all competitions – you can practise something for six weeks, but if it’s then interpreted differently it affects your game. We’re looking at that with the referees department.”