Referees Standards in Junior Rugby

[Number22]

Just wondering what Club/Players/Supports thought of Refereeing Standards in Junior Rugby in Leinster ?

[Armchair]

Hard to criticise refs who give up their time but the lower you go down the league the worse the standard gets, J1 tends to get a decent standard of ref but not always. Some refs seem to make up their own rules and could do with stricter assessments. Although not having neutral touch judges can be disasterous and lead to more rows than bad refs

[chrisboy]

Playin J 1, div. 2 last year, in one game with the last play of the game, we lost a match by one point because according to the ref, " the whole ball has to be across the line".. He disallowed our try and blew the final whistle.. In saying that, over the years, we've benefitted from a few unusual decisions too.. Very hard job, but at least they dont get the abuse that gaa or soccer refs get, which, i think brings a more intelligent type of person to take up Rugby reffing..

[combatlogo]

Playin J 1, div. 2 last year, in one game with the last play of the game, we lost a match by one point because according to the ref, " the whole ball has to be across the line".. He disallowed our try and blew the final whistle..

It's not Chav Ball!

Obviously, the standard won't be as good the lower you go given J4 & J5 is where refs start out but equally, the skill level at those grades can be shockingly bad which doesn't help...I think most teams would be looking for consistency, communication and basic competence e.g. reasonable knowledge of the laws. I doubt there's much overt bias, it's not like the ref will have put money down with Padraig Power Esq on the outcome of a J3 league game.

[Leinsterman]

Refs get it in the neck and unfairly so.
People seem to expect they'll get an international standard ref at J4 or J5 but as CLogo said, you get the beginners there and also people winding down their career and those who are just shite.
In that way, the refs exactly mirror the standard of players! Young lads, veterans and sloggers.

Funnily enough, a ref who would normally ref J1/LL1 matches once reffed one of our games last season and was exasperated because he said it was utter chaos at the breakdown.

"Fúcking hell, it was anarchy in the rucks ..... arms and legs everywhere. It was very difficult to make an informed decision because the game is so different to higher levels"

[Amz]

You think Junior rugby gets bad refs? You should see what the women's teams have to put up with.

Some of the patronising BS we get from some of the old codgers is disgraceful, but I suppose we're "lucky" to get a ref at all sometimes.

[tones]

Generally, the lower you go, the sh!tter the players, the sh!tter the refs.

[Darce]

You think Junior rugby gets bad refs? You should see what the women's teams have to put up with.

Some of the patronising BS we get from some of the old codgers is disgraceful, but I suppose we're "lucky" to get a ref at all sometimes.

Everyone is lucky to have a ref

[combatlogo]

As an aside, if anyone is interested in becoming a ref, give Dave Keane a call on 6473820 or email david.keane "AT" irfu.ie although I think he may be off doing some of the 7's competitions....he's an IRFU ref Development Officer but is also the POC in Leinster...pretty sure he runs an intro course every January.

[gleesonisgod]

Fell foul of some terrible refereeing tonight. It's sickening but what can you do?! I don't understand why some of them are referees?!

[combatlogo]

What game as a matter of interest?

[Donny B.]

Must say was very impressed with the ref we had today in Swords v Tallaght.

Helped that we won mind!

[gleesonisgod]

What game as a matter of interest?

Eh no thanks, won't be answering that one. Not clever or fair to teams or ref.

One incident, player stands up beside a ruck with back to opposition gets taken out with a charge to his lower back. Player reacts by springing up and dragging the 'tackler/rucker' out of the side of the ruck with the usual " what the fock are playing at you c0ck" or whatever expletives. No punches thrown or even a hint of it. Ref's assessment was that the player who had reacted had "come from a distance to get involved in something that didn't concern him". Yellow card. A clear indication that he had seen neither the initial offense or the reaction and had just guessed. If you are going to take a stab at what happened then at least punish both players for handbags. That was a 10 point sin binning and we lost by 1 point.

Countless other knock ons and basic mistakes from both teams completely missed.

I realise it's only a hobbie for these refs and fair play to them but most players in this country from the provinces to J6s take great pride in representing their teams and when your training/effort/talent gets undermined by poor refereeing it can be very disheartening.

Anyway, we've always got the return fixture.

[combatlogo]

As an aside, if anyone is interested in becoming a ref, give Dave Keane a call on 6473820 or email david.keane "AT" irfu.ie although I think he may be off doing some of the 7's competitions....he's an IRFU ref Development Officer but is also the POC in Leinster...pretty sure he runs an intro course every January.

Bump...Foundation course is on next Sunday in Belvo at 11:30...give Keaner a buzz beforehand.

[ruckandmall]

Quote

I realise it's only a hobbie for these refs and fair play to them but most players in this country from the provinces to J6s take great pride in representing their teams and when your training/effort/talent gets undermined by poor refereeing it can be very disheartening.

I agree, people train 2 nights a week and end up losing a game because a ref makes up his own rules.

[downtime]

You also have to realize that there is a crisis in Ireland and Leinster with refereeing numbers. There are over 125 games each weekend and there are not 125 referees available with referees doubling up on some weekends. The higher competitions are always going to be catered for. The Leinster Rugby Referees do their best to train, assess, coach and improve referees but at the end of the day some guys just want a run around at the weekend whereas at the higher levels you'll have guys attending many meeting and training 4 times a week.

[Leinsterman]

I agree, people train 2 nights a week and end up losing a game because a ref makes up his own rules.

Laws

[ronk]

I agree, people train 2 nights a week and end up losing a game because a ref makes up his own rules.

Laws

There are laws in rugby, but a ref can have his own rules.

[hope not expectation]

This actually happened.
At a u15 cup match a few years ago that my son played in, the opposition chipped ahead and the ball
bounced across the try line..One of our players touched down for a 22, no opposition within 5m but the ref awarded a try.
We lost 5 - 0. The opposition coach was very apologetic but what can you do?

Having said that.... the guy was in his late 50s giving up his Sunday morning so that kids could play.

[gleesonisgod]

Played a J3's match tonight. Had probably the best ref I've had at this level. Excellent.