Zombie Pirate Ninja Monkey

Refereeing vs Playing

My rugby team didn't have a league match on Saturday, so we arranged a friendly against a team that used to be local rivals, but who we're now several leagues above.

Unfortunately, they didn't just turn up short of a couple of players, but short of the referee they were supposed to arrange.  The former problem was easily solved - we had players to spare - but the latter is more of an issue: technically, if there is no certified referee available, the game cannot go on for insurance purposes.  In a bending of the rules I was asked to ref: I've refereed half a dozen games in the past - a clearer case of poacher turned gamekeeper you'll be hard-put to find - and while I was disappointed that I couldn't play, it was better that everyone else got a game.  That said, I gathered everyone around and explained the legal situation; I asked everyone playing to signify that they gave up the right to sue me since I was not holding myself out to have expertise in the field; I said that scrums were uncontested and rucking players out was a no-go; and I said that the first time anyone threw a punch the game was off.

What strikes me when I ref is that the things that are so very easy become hard.  When playing, I am relaxed and instinctive in spotting errors and offences.  I see virtually all of them without difficulty.  When refereeing, I am playing a different game, comprising balancing twin elements of spotting problems and ensuring a fun game.  I find it much harder, and freely admit that I have more difficulty seeing knock-ons in particular when following the play from the refereeing position.  Clearly, my brain has a "playing rugby" mode which is very different from the "refereeing rugby" mode.  I'm much better and more relaxed in the former.

That said, I was pretty pleased with the results: two of the five tries in the game came when I was playing advantage, which people notice and comment on as A Good Thing.  The scrum count was moderate, the penalty count very low, the play generally uninterrupted and both sides kept the complaints to a minimum.  When a ref gets clapped off the pitch and slapped on the back it's usually a good sign.  But I was unhappy with my enforcement of the offside laws: in the first half, I would forget to check that forwards were joining the breakdown from behind the rear foot, and I am sure I missed a few.  The binding of the loose forwards was a problem for me.  And I was disappointed that I couldn't stop both sides handling the ball on the ground: of only about 10 penalties in the game, two thirds were for that.

And I was, I admit, secretly delighted that in my absence our usual strongest areas - ball retention, clearing out and turnovers at the breakdown - were spectacularly terrible.  Nyuck nyuck.