Of tough love and laser beams
Hold your nerve.
The message directed to referees from NZ Rugby couldn’t be clearer. Referees Paul Williams and Mike Fraser blew 58 penalties during the first round of Super Rugby last weekend, but rather than cane them for their tough policing of the breakdown and offside lines their bosses have given them the thumbs-up.
Williams and Fraser did exactly what they were asked to do. Fair enough.
If refs are consistent with their interpretation, and application, of the rugby law book there should be few complaints from players, coaches and punters.
That’s the theory anyway. Ben O’Keeffe and Brendon Pickerill, who will control the fixtures in Hamilton and Wellington, are in the gun this weekend.
We wish them well. For this Tough Love programme is to succeed, they require the full cooperation of the players.
1. Assistant refs with laser beams for eyes?
Former World Rugby vice-chairman Agustin Pichot and ex-Wallaby Brett Robinson recently suggested laser beams could be used to keep control of the offside lines.
Well, it turns out Super Rugby Aotearoa has given us a more conventional way of punishing those sneaky defenders who creep into rugby’s equivalent of No Man’s Land.
It’s called vision from human beings who work as assistant referees. Combine that with a strong case of the verbals, and a willingness for the man with the whistle to act, and you get a result.
2. Sam Whitelock’s long goodbye is almost over.
More than nine months have passed since the 117-test All Black last played a first-class match in New Zealand. Whitelock’s previous appearance on home dirt was when he started for the All Blacks in the 92-7 win over Tonga in Hamilton on September 7. Following the World Cup he played for the Panasonic Wild Knights in the Top League in Japan, he was supposed to be scratched from the Crusaders squad but then the Covid-19 pandemic arrived.
The cancellation of the Japan competition changed the narrative, and Crusaders coach Scott Robertson now has the option of starting test locks Scott Barrett and Whitelock against the Hurricanes on Sunday.
3. This isn’t great news for the Hurricanes’ lineout.
Five of the Canes’ throws were lost during the 30-20 defeat to the Blues in Auckland last weekend.
Those stats won’t have been lost on the Crusaders, who will attempt to erode their opponents’ confidence by contesting Dane Coles’ throws to create self-doubt.
4. Warren Gatland’s bumpy homecoming.
The Chiefs’ record in Super Rugby Aotearoa and the scrapped Super Rugby competitions reads: L, L, W, L, W, W, W.
Defeats to the Highlanders, Hurricanes and Brumbies in the last four outings doesn’t look flash on paper. But it must be noted that four months, due to the lockdown and the cancellation of Super Rugby, have passed since that first defeat to the Brumbies in Hamilton.
The Chiefs’ first victory of the year was against the Blues in Auckland on January 31. It was the club’s eighth consecutive win against their northern foe.
5. How’s this for a statistic to ensure Blues fans’ spirits remain high as a kite?
If the Blues beat the Chiefs at FMG Stadium Waikato on Sunday, they will record their fifth consecutive win away from home and set a new club record.
Who would have thought it?