Leinster mind games begin? - Champions Cup (A) - Saturday 06th April 2024 - KO:8:00pm

[Harley1850]

Can’t believe the amount of complaints about the ref by lots of posters on here, he wasn’t at his best as usually he is a top official, we all have bad games and today he made refereeing mistakes against both side but in no way did he favour any one side.
We lost not because of the referee but because we were not good enough.

I'm sorry were you watching the same game the officiating was dire

[TiltonTiger]

Can’t believe the amount of complaints about the ref by lots of posters on here, he wasn’t at his best as usually he is a top official, we all have bad games and today he made refereeing mistakes against both side but in no way did he favour any one side.
We lost not because of the referee but because we were not good enough.

I'm sorry were you watching the same game the officiating was dire

Not dire. Dreadful.

[OakhamTiger32]

Can’t believe the amount of complaints about the ref by lots of posters on here, he wasn’t at his best as usually he is a top official, we all have bad games and today he made refereeing mistakes against both side but in no way did he favour any one side.
We lost not because of the referee but because we were not good enough.

Exactly

Took a moment to compose myself before replying, actually had to re-read this a few times to check it said what I thought it said. I’m sorry but I’m not buying this for one second. It’s a forum and we are all entitled to our opinions. We won’t always agree and yes, in general there is too much blame placed on the official in the middle or even in the truck but tonight was next level imho.

Leinster were incredibly cynical (cheating) at most breakdowns, got away with a few forward passes at key moments, numerous times we got pinged for not releasing or not rolling away and they got away with murder! Not sure what Jasper was pinged for at the end that nearly lead to their try (dropped ball) but it seemed pretty clear he was over the ball fair and square. Then there were at least 2 deliberate knocks ons.. and what was that at the end.. a cynical dive through grabbing the 9 and dislodging the ball only for a penalty to be given.. yes we got away with a few things too but it was very much a one sided show tonight for where I was sat.. If Mr Barnes was on the whistle that would have been a much closer game..

Did the better side win? Yes I think so but the officiating was not a level playing field and not up to par for me. Yes everyone makes mistakes but come on…

[mightymouse]

Exactly… if that had been the ref Tigers had to endure last week, half their team would have been in the bin.

[Harley1850]

Exactly to be fair the standard of refereeing seems to be on a downward spiral at the moment...

[Stephen18]

Can’t believe the amount of complaints about the ref by lots of posters on here, he wasn’t at his best as usually he is a top official, we all have bad games and today he made refereeing mistakes against both side but in no way did he favour any one side.
We lost not because of the referee but because we were not good enough.

I get where your coming from hes seemed a lot less reliant on the tmo which I’m all for, but it is going to lead to mistakes people have to except that if they want flowing rugby. The cracknall first half penalty there was a clear realse but he missed fair enough, but the 3 knock on without cards/possible penalty tries, the tmo needs to come in on those as they’re possible game changer. Problem is I don’t speak French so that my of happen and he ignored it or it didn’t in which case the issue comes to the tmo not the ref. my only complaint was his reffing at the scrum seemed like guess work and that he allowed them to waste 2 minutes off the sin bin.

[Experimental]

Thought we got away with a few there for sure, but dont forget playing the ref is part of the game, and one of the reasons home advantage is so important in this comp. You guys put it up to us, will be good prep for next week, but if we play like that again, we will get a pumping from LAR. Best of luck in the Prem

[johnthegriff]

The best team in the day won. There were refereeing errors but aren't there always?. Personally I think we need to get our best fullback playing at fullback, Kata for me is a great player but he is not a distributor and is not our best 12. Obviously I don't know who is fit and available but I think we would be better with Kelly at 12 and Porter, Scott or Cokanasiga at 13.
I do hope that for Saints we have Reffell, Martin and Chessum back although I thought the guys selected in the back did well, they were unlucky with some of the scrum decisions.

[CrumblingTerrace]

Thought we got away with a few there for sure, but dont forget playing the ref is part of the game, and one of the reasons home advantage is so important in this comp.

Good point. Leinster's 'accidentaly' falling onto the wrong side of the ruck and holding players on the ground reminded me of how Richie McCaw's NZ side played. In a game where everyone breaks the rules, some teams do it better.

[mol2]

I find the whole ruck interpretation fundamentally flawed and needs changing/clarification.

If a defending player goes beyond the ball and goes to ground or is taken to the ground there is a significant risk of being penalised.

An attacking player entering a ruck seems entitled to dive beyond it, using his body as a missile to prevent an attempt at jackalling. For me they must be forced to stay on their feet and not go off their feet unless taken down by a defender. They should then be required to roll away in exactly the same way as a defender on the ground. Diving beyond the ball should be an automatic penalty. The 7 should not be expected to put their head and arms in the way of someone making no effort to bind.

Even if you stay on your feet you should not be permitted to pass more than say a metre beyond the ruck until and unless bound to by another player. If not, you are effectively offside and illegally obstructing the opposition.

I have another theory about scrum delays. Once a scrum has formed but, for whatever reason it has to be reset (or if a free kick is awarded), the clock should revert to whatever time it was when the initial scrum formed. That time also applied to yellow carded players. In other words you gain nothing by time wasting. If a penalty is awarded then the clock continues as it is a new play and the choice of action is down to to the choice of the side being infringed against.

The time has come for ball sensors. Anything forward and it gets pinged. The arguably deliberate forward passes seen in NZ, Australia and France would dry up pretty quickly. The momentum theory is utter tosh.
Player overruns, you don’t pass.

[Experimental]

Indeed CrumblingTerrace, I dont think any team did it better than that RichieMcCaw team. LAR are also masters at it, I would argue probably even better than us. Ill refer you to this great example by Nathan Hines of how its done!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8soVSySmqjI

[daktari]

All rucks in todays game are illegal. Head and shoulders should be above the hips….when did you last see a ruck like that?

[Wayne Richardson Fan Club]

Just go back to how rucking used to be...a decent ref can work out what is a rucking motion & what isn't. There aren't rucks anymore it's a pile of bodies that becomes a Caterpillar, the number in the 6N with 5, 6 or more players of the team with the ball in a "ruck" with no opposition players involved was ridiculous.

[Wellscity]

lets be honest
Leinster /Ireland have always infringed at the breakdown and got away under the noses of All the officials.
Yesterday - no change there then.
That has got to be one of the better performances from still a depleted Tigers. It wasn't Leinster getting it all their own way.
Yes still work to do in defence although there are signs were working on a more complete game.
If DM can have an attack and defence coach next season could be a solid season.

[Old Hob]

We were largely written off and so could, perhaps, play with a freedom not often seen. It proved to be worthwhile. As others have noted, take away the intercept and add in OHC's try and ... who knows.
However, we are now back at the sharp end of the Premiership season. Will we resort to our earlier style, or will we adopt the style we showed against Leinster? We should want to win more strongly than fear to lose.