World Rugby has created ‘tension’ between referees and coaches with the decision to put a stop to pre-match meetings.
That is according to veteran journalist David Pembroke, who revealed the development in a recent episode of the Rugby Unity podcast, where he was joined by former All Blacks head coach Sir Steve Hansen.
World Rugby are no longer allowing referee and coach meetings
Pembroke explained that the game’s governing body is no longer allowing pre-match meetings between coaches and referees after reaching out to some of his contacts.
“I was making some calls this week around the world to a few different people, and I picked up that there’s a bit of tension between the international coaches and World Rugby,” he said on the podcast.
“The coaches want to have these pre-game meetings, and they’re not taking place anymore, and World Rugby is saying, ‘No other sport does it, and we’re not going to do it’.
“But my understanding is that the decision has been taken and that they are not going to allow pre-match meetings between coaches and the referees.”
Sir Steve Hansen: “It’s not right”
Sources told Planet Rugby that this is partly true, with pre-match meetings still being possible but with the caveat that coaches from both teams have to be present – it is understood that hasn’t been well received.
Hansen offered his view on the decision, confirming that this isn’t a new development but one he hopes changes as the current situation creates mistrust between all parties.
“Well, that’s been happening for a bit, and I don’t think it’s right,” the ex-All Blacks boss explained.
“Personally, I think when we did have the meetings, it built relationships, and it’s a lot harder to get frustrated and make big statements after games with people that you have relationships with. You’ve got an avenue where you can go and have a quiet conversation once you turn the kettle off and make yourself a cup of tea… and have a proper conversation about the game.
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“I remember having a chat to Wayne Barnes, who I didn’t always agree with what he did and he didn’t always agree with what I said, but we could have a conversation and then walk away and go, ‘Okay, well we’ve heard each other’ and I understand better what he’s trying to do and he understands better what we’re trying to do.
“So if you don’t have those conversations, it’s really difficult, and you become mistrustful. It’s human nature, and that’s both sides.
“The referees at the moment and all the people that come with the referees’ part of the game, they’ll probably mistrust the coaches, and it’s why they don’t want to have the conversations. And conversely, the coaches are feeling the same way about the referees. So, I think it needs more conversation and more openness about the whole thing.”
Refs have a massive role to play in the game
He is of the opinion that too many of the current laws leave too much room for interruption and need to be simplified in order to achieve consistency from the referees, but also make it simpler to understand for spectators and players.
“The refs have got a massive role to play in the game, and in the old days you used to talk about if you didn’t see the ref it was a great game, but that’s changed, and that’s changed probably for the better in some ways but worse in others,” Hansen continued.
“The problem I think lies with how we’re delivering a set of rules where you’ve got a group of men with a whistle having to interpret a law, and not necessarily do they even agree on how they interpret it. In fact, they can’t be consistent with it because it’s so difficult to deliver. So that’s when I think they need to say, ‘Look, we can’t rule on this; we can’t officiate this properly with consistency’, which is all the teams want.
“So can you go take it back, and whoever’s designing this law, can you rehash it and then send it back to a point where we can do it simply and effectively? If we do that more often with some of the laws that we’ve got in our game, it becomes simpler to ref. It becomes simpler to play. It becomes simpler to watch, and we don’t have all the confusion that we possibly have at the moment.”
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