Cockerill demands fair treatment

EDINBURGH head coach Richard Cockerill has called on the Pro14 board to take urgent action to improve the standard of refereeing.

Cockerill claims because his club don’t have the same clout in the corridors of power as bigger ones, his criticism of officials — which he kept private until after their win over Connacht at the weekend — has not been taken seriously.

‘It’s hurting us,’ said the Edinburgh head coach. ‘My job is to make sure people stick up for Edinburgh. Unfortunately, because it’s Edinburgh, nobody seems to want to look at it and rectify it, because standards are just not good enough.’

He wants an undertaking from senior league officials that officiating will be improved and his team won’t be on the wrong end of some poor refereeing decisions when they play Leinster in Dublin next weekend.

Even although his team won 17-10 against Connacht — their first victory out of three league games — he claimed Welsh referee Ian Davies allowed the Irish outfit to cheat and did not come down hard enough on them.

Cockerill will contact the Pro14 head of elite refereeing Greg Garner this week to demand answers and also wants the board to get involved.

‘Referees must make sure these things are done properly,’ said the former England hooker. ‘What are the consequences for the ref tonight? I know what it is for us. We don’t get a bonus point, struggled to get a win. We are under pressure to perform. Are officials the same? I don’t know.

‘The officiating has not been good over the last two weeks against Ospreys and Ulster. It was probably even worse against Connacht. Fifteen penalties to four but just one yellow cardfor them. It has to get better.

‘If you are going to let teams cheat like that then that is what you get. You want the refs to be accountable and show due diligence when they come into a game. Simple as that. The Pro14 board needs to talk about this.’