Referees Corner – Issue 11 – Stormers – 2022/23

A very warm welcome to another edition of referees corner.Todays match referee is Sam Grove-White front he Scottish Rugby Union. Sam started refereeing following an ankle injury whilst playing in university. He has had a steady progression through his refereeing career. He has refereed in the Japanese Top League in 2015 as part of a Scottish Rugby Union initiative to create links with Scotland and Japan rugby and he is also a regular  in the Scottish Premiership as well as the URC. Sam was picked as a referee for the World Rugby Sevens Series of 2016-17 season. This continued through to the 2018-19 season. Grove-White has refereed in the Under 20 Six Nations and also refereed in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. This is his fifth time refereeing Leinster. Today he will be ably assisted by Peter Martin and Keane Davidson of the Ulster Society with Andrew mcMenemy in the TMO box. We wish the team well. 

Schools Cup

Congratulations to Padraic Reidy who was appointed to the 2023 Bank of Ireland Schools Senior Cup Final between Gonzaga and Blackrock College. Padriac has been a member of the IRFU National Referees panel for a number of years and recently refereed the Bateman Cup Final between Terenure College and Buccaneers. Padraic was assisted by last year’s final referee Andrew Cole and also Sam Holt. Jonny Hollywood and Wayne Sheridan were 4th and 5th official, with Brian MacNeice TMO and Dan Wallace as Time Keeper. Well done to both teams on a great game and to Gonzaga on a fantastic first cup final win.

Law in Focus

Law 18.3 Quick Throw

Ireland had an early try disallowed in Scotland after they appeared to have legally stolen a Scotland throw and sent their forwards driving over – but was this call correct?

After seemingly being alerted by a message from his assistants on the sidelines, referee Luke Pearce consulted with the closest touch judge then disallowed the score.

The law states: A player who carries the ball into touch must release the ball immediately so that a quick throw may be taken. Sanction: Penalty.

At a quick throw, the ball is thrown in:

Between the mark of touch and the thrower’s own goal line; and Parallel to or towards the thrower’s own goal line; and So that it reaches the five-metre line before it touches the ground or hits a player; and By a player whose feet are both outside the field of play.

A quick throw is disallowed and a lineout is awarded to the same team if: A lineout had already been formed; or The ball had been touched after it went into touch by anyone other than the player throwing in or the player who carried the ball into touch; or A different ball is used from the one that originally went into touch.

Monthly Seminars

We’ve had some great turnouts at our monthly seminars in 2023. It is a great opportunity for our referees to get together in an informal setting and discuss their games. This month we are focusing on a key aspect of refereeing – Communication. Match officials use a wide range of tools to communicate during a Rugby match. The use of these tools, which of course will depend on the game situation in front of you, allows you to achieve three critical things in your capacity as referee. There are three ways the referee communicates:

• Voice
• Whistle
• Signals

But first of all, referees need always be close to the action and position themselves in the best possible way. As a referee, if you can communicate clearly and succinctly, players and coaches will better understand your decisions. This involves communicating with your whistle, your primary and secondary signals and your voice. Sometimes you will encounter challenging situations that will require more management. The ability to build a relationship during a game with a captain can help you to manage a team as a whole when the temperature of a game rises.

It is about people management and working with many different personality types and an appreciation of emotional intelligence. You must stay calm in sometimes stressful environments. The language you use, your tone of voice and your body language are all effective refereeing tools. Sometimes, not speaking can be just as effective as speaking. Thanks to Sean Gallagher and John Carvill for some great presentations this month on this.

Want to get involved? 

Referees provide a vital function in servicing all levels of the game. Whether you aspire to referee at the highest level or to referee locally, there is a place for you. There are excellent support structures to develop referees and a thriving social aspect too. 

Feel free to make contact with the Leinster Rugby Referees at hayley.whyte@leinsterrugby.ie  If you are interested in becoming a referee get in contact with us through our Facebook, our website www.leinsterrugbyreferees.ie or through twitter @leinsterreferee.