The Minnesota Rugby Football Union Referees

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Whistle While You Work

_{"Where does the violent tint end and the orange tint begin? Distinctly we see the difference of the colors, but where exactly does the one first blending enter into the other. So with sanity and insanity...."      -Herman Melville (on why some choose to referee rugby... well, maybe)}

The referee is the sole judge of fact and law... He cannot alter a decision.
--Law 6(5)

All players must respect the authority of the referee and must not dispute his decisions.
--Law 6(8)(a)

Don't wait for the Last Judgement, it takes place everyday.
-Albert Camus

The Referee is our shepard, we shall not want.
--The Bible (King Saulala version)

On Rugby Referees
by Rob Wagner

One of the many ways rugby differentiates and raises itself above other sports is the manner in which it is officiated. There is but one referee to control the play and whims of 30 frenzied ruggers. He is assisted by two touch judges, often supplied by the two participating teams, but he is alone in adjudging all of the significant laws. This would not be possible under the rules and etiquette governing other major sport in America because other sports allow, even encourage, the participants to abuse the official in a most abhorent verbal fashion. Rugby allows no such nonsense. Rugby allows no conversations with the referee at all, other than the occasional, and politely asked, question that the team captain, and only the team captain, may make.

Much like the the Highlander, ("There will be only one"), so it is with referees. Thirty players, two touch judges, but only ONE refereee and he is the sole arbiter of the rules. He may not be God, but for 80 minutes he is bestowed with similar powers. Now granted, some take this role as Lord a bit too seriously... but hey, what good is all that authority if you can't abuse it a little, eh?!?

To further this show of great sportsmanship, at the end of the game after the two teams offer a cheer for their opponent, they join in offering three hip-hoorays for the referee, as well. Small reward for 80 minutes of hard labor, but reward more meaningful because it comes from those whom he has overseen. Still, not an easy endeavor this refereeing. One that toils so with little reward must certainly be commended by all of us. So offer a cheer, a toast, and your thanks to the referee each and everytime you play, win or lose. That is often enough to bring the good ones back to do your games again and again. That is a damn site better than having your lone experienced player have to referee the game because you've been such a bunch of twits that no real referee wants to come 'round and put up with your abuse, now isn't it.

Here in Minnesota through the late 80's and 90's we have had the good fortune to have a very dedicated bunch handling a huge amount of refereeing. Led during this time by Jeff Lynch, the Referees Society, while small in numbers, has been huge in devotion to the rugby game. You can usually tell the good ones very quickly in the match by how they position themselves at each stage. From the opening kick-off it becomes apparent when the dedicated referee knows to stand with the kicker and follow the play from there. The referee who is also a student of the game should have the respect of the players (even Americans) because he has taken the time and made the effort to learn his craft much as the player learns his. It is too often not appreciated that the referee spends hours learning the laws, watching videos, discussing the game with players and other referees, attending clinics, doing fitness training, and generally doing whatever he can to make sure he does the best he possibly can once he crosses the white lines.

About the Laws: The very best, or at least the most interesting, explanation of the laws I've ever seen was in a book put out by the Manhattan RFC and called, simply, "Rugger, How to Play the Game". My copy was given to me by Pete Connors (ok, ok, so he didn't actually 'give' it to me, he loaned it to me, but ask him if he has it back, yet, eh?). It was originally published in 1966 and the edition I saw was from 1972. The best thing about "Rugger" is the humour. The entire thing, while accurate, is done with as if it were a conversation with the reader and the speaker is not only enjoying the conversation but enjoying even more making fun of the listener. Oh sure, you can always read "The Laws of the Game," which is the offical rulebook, but I recommend it only for those wishing to be cured of a serious problem with insomnia (or to referees, who are known only to fall asleep during matches. But I digress, the Book, as it shall hereafter be known, is wonderful, filled with comments such as:

"... The ball is descending in the receivers' half, the kicker's team is off in hot pursuit, and the first man from either side to get the ball is free to run with it, pass it, kick it, dribble it, or bounce it on his thick skull, if he wants to. "And his opponents are free to tackle him, or wrench the ball from his sticky grasp, or immobolise him by winding their hairy arms about his writhing form."

Tackling: "It comes as a nasty shock to many players, and even to some referees, to discover that a man can be steaming along with the ball, can be seized by the legs, can come crashing down -- and still not be tackled, in the sense that the laws give this word. If it comes as a nasty shock to you too, the please go back and re-read the definition of a tackle."  "Do we hear ugly mutterings from the back of the crowd? Are there present some whose primitive instincts cry out and say dammitall man, a tackle's a tackle so stop all this nitpicking about did the ball touch the ground or didn't the ball touch the ground? And what's more, which swine pinched my beer?"

Misconduct: "Because Rugby is a contact sport, and because play is continuous, spirits sometimes get high and players do things which -- if they were to contemplate them for two or three weeks from some solitary mountain-top -- they might regret. This is a fat lot of good to an opponent on whose calf the teeth-marks have not yet begun to heal; and so the laws in their wisdom deal firmly with foul play."  "...this lies at the heart of the game, and at the heart of the spirit of the game (if a spirit can have a heart). The whole point of Rugby is that every player should be as free as possible to go for the ball. Once you stop thinking about where the ball is and how your team can get it, and start thinking about that ugly redheaded forward on the other side and how you can get him -- then you might as well go home and watch television. You're in the wrong game."

Off-side Play (Bad)  "Good old Harry, playing at fly half and eager to make amends for arriving late, has over-run the blue scrum-half and is now two yard in front of him, so Harry is off-side and, for all the good he can do, is out of the game until he gets himself on-side... Harry is not criminally off-side until he takes an active part in the game. This he now does. The scrum-half, rather than pass the ball to Harry and so (a) commit a forward pass; (b) make Harry criminally off-side, decides to kick ahead, and he taps the ball five yards forward.  "Harry -- a man with a brain like cold cauliflower -- sees his chance for glory and gallops after it. Instantly, he's in trouble. Whether he reaches the ball first, or tackles a White player who has the ball, or simply gets in someone's way, Harry is illegally off-side."

And so on and so forth it goes. Wonderful, entertaining and informative stuff. The kind of thing that makes learning (yuch) fun (yeah). I wish I could put the whole thing here, but my fingers are tired and so I'm going to stop now. If you want more, call the Manhatten RFC, or talk to Pete Connors. I'm sure he'll lend his copy to you, if he ever gets it back.

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Whistle While You Work
(by Gil Bovard)
taken from the River City RFC 1977 Yearbook

Abe Lincoln had a story about the character, who, tarred and feathered, was being ridden out of town on a rail. Asked for a comment he said, "If it weren't for the honor I'd just as soon walk." The character might well have been a referee.

Rugby is essentially a players game. No other sport imposes so little "Big Brother" supervision. The touch judges interrupt play only when the ball is already dead by being out of bounds. The advantage rule is designed to deep play flowing. Basically 30 players are supposed to creat their own brand of ordered chaos without interference. Rugby has just 27 Laws; only 14 related to the manner in which the game is actually played. Conclusion: Rugby refereeing involves knowing when and how to keep a low profile and let the players do their own thing.

The 30 guys who have trained and worked to be on the pitch deserve the chance to play the game themselves as much as possible. I feel stongly that the refereee owes it to the players to establish a relationship of cooperation letting them know that (a) he is in charge, (b) that he knows what its all about, (c) that he is completely impartial, (d) that as long as they abide by the Laws, it is their game to play. To achieve this takes a lot more than just a whistle and a black jersey. A good ref needs at least the following:

(1) Physical Conditioning: If Black's fullback kicks 60 yards, the ref has to be close to the kicker to watch for a late hit. He must also be under the ball when it comes down to check offsides. This becomes wearisome if White's fullback decides to kick it back. All ballcarriers run like scared rabbits and the ref has to stay with them. Most players don't mind a call being made by a ref who is close enough to see the play, but the question of whether it's a try, dropout, or 5 meter scrum is not well resolved by a whistle tooter who is puffing along at midfield.

(2) Knowledge: The ref has to know the Laws, and be able to apply them promptly and properly. He must spend hours mentally creating game situations so that when he observes the play he can call it correctly. It helps if he has been a player because of all the little "tricks of the trade" that good players do discreetly and not so good players do ungraciously.

(3) Fairness and Good Judgement: Let's face it, the ref isn't going to see them all and he isn't going to be right every call. There are 30 or so of you and only one ref; 95% of the calls are judgement matters; we don't have eyes in the back of our heads. But you have the right to have the same call made both ways.

(4) Love of the Game: I don't know of any ref who doesn't enjoy Rugby, but you have gotta really love it to keep making those lonely drives, suiting up alone, and going onto the pitch with no hope of glory. Ours is the fear of making bad calls--knowing we will and hoping they won't be too often or critical. Ours is the paradox of having to establish control over 30 exhuberant young bulls, yet allow them to run their own show as much as possible. After the match, the winners have the joy of victory, losers have the bruises of honorable combat, both can look forward to the 3rd half and the huggers attentions. The ref has the memory of bad or questionable calls and for him the 3rd half is too often more like a 3rd degree.

(5) Cooperation: This is the most important of a ref's needs. If those 30 ruffians remember that they really are gentlemen (and all the ones I know are!); if they are well coached, know the Laws and play by them, then the only whistles you will hear are at the start, the half, and at no side.

Good Luck Gentlemen,

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The End . . .