How a BLUES STAR conquered his demons
The impression was given this week that respect for and treatment of referees has been slipping to a dangerously low level during Super Rugby Aotearoa.
That’s not true. Respect for and treatment of referees slipped to dangerously low levels years ago.
What we are seeing in Super Rugby Aotearoa is an amplification of what has been happening for years, sparked perhaps by the intensification of the competition which has put players and coaches under the sort of pressure that can expose those with a short fuse and predilection for placing blame anywhere other than on themselves.
Refereeing is an art, not a science. The mistakes are piling up amid a blinding volume of directives to make the game flow and somehow facilitate a product that will keep both winning and losing teams as well as fans and broadcasters happy.
The stakes are high, the games are intense and the margins so fine that it’s understandable that players and coaches are emotional and volatile at times during and immediately after games.
But it’s not understandable or forgivable that they haven’t been able to engage officials with the respect that they and the game of rugby deserves and demands.
The world is watching and New Zealand has an opportunity to recast itself as the paragon of virtue.
It’s more important than many may think, as the All Blacks don’t have a great global reputation for playing with all due respect for the laws, and half the world already thinks most referees are scared of them.
Rugby has long held a smug, superior attitude about its code of conduct — sneering at the lawlessness of football where it’s not uncommon for referees to be pushed and shoved.
But rugby’s self-righteousness now looks laughable. They have become blind to the regression of their own standards and failed to realise that they are no better than the rival code with which they hold in such disdain.
The rugby has been so brilliant that maybe everyone has failed to see or simply overlooked the on-field histrionics that are now part and parcel when players don’t like a decision a referee has made.
Super Rugby Aotearoa has been breathtaking in every sense, including the way some players granted themselves consultancy rights on officiating.
TJ Perenara is such a brilliant competitor and role model that it is disappointing he has had trouble this year understanding he can’t berate a referee into submission.
He has not been alone. The Chiefs were so busy remonstrating one week that they didn’t defend a quick lineout that led to a try by the Crusaders.
They didn’t even see it happening: blinded as they were by their incessant rage about a decision that didn't go their way.
Adding to this culture of defiance and petulance in regard to referees has been the semi-regular, postmatch complaining about decisions.
Chiefs coach Warren Gatland named and shamed referee James Doleman after the Crusaders beat the Chiefs in Christchurch, claiming Jack Goodhue should have been penalised in the build-up to the home side’s critical try.
There have been other moans and grumbles, half accusations and pointed remarks that have all done their bit in making it seem like respect for officialdom is diminishing.
Super Rugby Aotearoa hasn’t plumbed depths but it has provided an opportunity to put an end to this culture of erosion.
The competition has been brilliant, compelling, dramatic and intense. Now it has a chance to be something more and to be the leaders in restoring a more respectful approach to match officials.
Life isn’t fair. Sport isn’t fair, and the point, even when vast sums of money are at stake, is for those who play it and watch it to accept this.