Respect for referee is golden rule of rugby

As the game struggles to recover from the pandemic and we are slowly getting back to the normality of our weekends, the threat of a collapse in a vital area is becoming more of a reality.

Refereeing a match is becoming a far less rewarding occupation than it used to be and I am not talking money here. There was a time when a rugby referee could be assured of a respectful welcome at any club with players and club officials knowing their importance, with the reality that without those who are prepared to put their reputations and integrity on the line week in, week out, there would be no game.

The laws of rugby union are some of the most complicated of any sport and are open to a million interpretations which can be considered correct at any incident but it has always been a fact that only one opinion counts. The referee’s.

In a game played at every level by some of the most physical participants of any sport, there must be total respect for the person in the middle and he must have the confidence that his judgement will not be questioned to make it a fair and even game.

If they or their other match officials are intimidated by questioning players, who in reality only see what they want to see, or post-match by biased fans or coaches disappointed by the result, it easy to see why so many no longer want that pressure.

Like the vast majority of players, referees at the grassroots end of the game are not paid for officiating, only for travel, but they are actually the most important element of the game.

Referees at the top of the game earn a respectable sum of money for the matches they officiate and to some extent should be open to a post-match examination of how they have performed, just as players are.

But just like players in grassroots, referees will quickly find other things to occupy their time if the insults and accusations become too regular and too personal.

I am not trying to justify bad refereeing, although there has been plenty over the years, I am trying to make those critics making the noise understand the potential damage they are creating to the wider game.

As someone who came up through the game from the junior rugby clubs of the day, Ilford Wanderers, Old Albanians to Streatham and Croydon, before moving up to Richmond and then Wasps, there were many occasions when I had been on the wrong side of a referee’s decision. Including as a 16-year-old playing for Ilford Wanderers against Bridgwater and being sent off for retaliating after being punched by their prop, who wasn’t sent off.

“Refs at grassroots level are not paid but are the most important element of the game”

It was then that I learned the golden rule of playing rugby when appearing before the disciplinary committee at the East India Club.

Standing in front of a desk with four men seated on the other side I was asked, ‘Do you agree that the referee is the sole arbiter of the game?’ To which I knew I had to say yes and was immediately told, ‘Right you’re guilty, what’s your mitigation.’

It was a lesson that stuck with me through my whole career and never again did I question the decision of the referee.

Times have moved on with citing officers and TMOs but it is still down to the referee to interpret how and whether players play within the boundaries of the laws.