Foul Play

FOUL PLAY MANAGEMENT
(Based on discussions on Monday 20 June 2011)

(1) CONTROL DURING THE GAME
 Maintain rapport with captains and players. This begins when the referee arrives at the ground
 Be pro-active through communication, rather than reactive with constant whistle
 Recognise that the style of team play and player ability will affect the refereeing of that fixture
 It is most important to read the game, identify what is going on around you
 If the game is disjointed with poor skill level (and you are even becoming frustrated), only through strong law application and game understanding will it improve
 Easing up or letting offences go (i.e .trying to make a game of it) will only make the game worse
 If you are an A/R on a fixture, remember you are NOT refereeing the game i.e . A/R’s are responsible for signaling, touch, touch-in-goal, signaling kicks at goal and indicating foul play. While you can also provide assistance to the referee in the performance of any of the referee's duties, your main duties are those as listed, and in particular assistance in foul play situations.

(2) FOUL PLAY MANAGEMENT DURING THE GAME
 Recognise flashpoints
o Late, early or high tackles and charges (e.g . shoulder)
o “Cheap” shots (e.g. elbows, shoulder), and those big hits where there’s yahooing afterwards!
o Players on the ground after a tackle; arriving players climbing in top
o Interference or running obstruction
o Pillars or guard dogs and the ruck/maul phase
o Language and/or sledging, particularly at school lower club grade level
o Scrums: halfback touching the scrums; halfbacks obstructing each other, No 7’s – changing angle, sticking leg out in attempt to prevent non-feeding halfback following the ball.
 Be confident and eyeball defenders
 Be prepared to act strongly and swiftly if the situation demands – MAKE THE HARD CALLS
 Remember, justice must be seen to be done, especially by the non-offending teams
 Take your time following the offence ; be cool, calm and collected. Do not finger point or handle players
 Take your time restarting the game, shorten advantage if necessary, do not allow prolonged rucking or mauling until you feel you have the game back under control
 Sin Bin – use where appropriate, especially for persistent or wilful infringements

(3) REPORTING PROCESS
 ALL SIN BINS AND ORDERING OFFS MUST BE REPORTED ON THE APPROPRIATE FORMS AND FORWARDED TO THE ASSOCIATION
 PLEASE REPORT ANY BRAWLS DURING THE GAME – THESE ARE OCCURING TOO FREQUENTLY AND THE ASSOCIATION AND HBRFU DO NOT OFTEN HEAR ABOUT THEM. IF SPECTATORS ARE INVOLVED TRY AND GET THEIR NAMES(S) IF POSSIBLE.
 IT IS MOST IMPORTANT WE HEAR ABOUT INCIDENCES OF FOUL PLAY. WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THESE TEAMS SO APPROPRIATE REFEREES CAN BE APPOINTED THE FOLLOWING WEEK(S).
Alan Mettrick
Referee Coach