2005/6 Season
Experience at end of Season
3 x U13/U14
11 x U15/U16
3 x U17/U18/U19
1 x Ladies
1 Men
4 x 7s/10s
May 2006
Worthing Junior Boys Sevens
Another great day - I think I'm a sevens ref at heart. Did the U14 final where
the first 4 plays went in for tries. Brilliant conversion from the touchline to go
to extra time and a great finish. Best match yet to be on the pitch with.
May 2006
Worthing Junior Girls Sevens
Really good day with loads of matches to do. Lots of injuries to players
which slowed things down. Was allowed to ref the main U17 Final with other
far more experienced refs around - don't know whose call that was, but I
was chuffed!
23 April 2006
U14 Friendly: Brighton 15 v Burry Port 14
Welsh tourists looked half asleep before KO, but got going eventually. Bit
of a fractous match and I should have penalised BP more.
19 March 2006
U16 League: Crawley 41 v Hove 19
A late switch from Heathfield U14 brought unexpected and very welcome
consequences at Crawley - my first proper assessment.
Dennis Nolan had turned up expecting Jez Davies to be refereeing, but
offered to stay on and "do" me instead!
I was a little rushed in my preparation as it took an age to get hold of
the key for the ref's room due to people having to help get the Mini
tournament underway.
I had ref'd Crawley earlier in the season in a massive win over Bognor
and had to deal with a lot of sledging - and had to give my first 2
yellows, so I made sure my mind was on the ball from the off.
This match was to decide 3rd place in the division and was highly
enjoyable, Crawley getting away in the first 15 mins of the 2nd half
otherwise the scoring was well balanced.
Scrums were going in before the "engage" regularly at the start of the
match which took a bit of sorting out. Discipline good apart from one
minor skirmish between 2 players standing in the middle of a maul and a
Crawley forward who just needed to be calmed down a few times.
I was unsighted for one (probable) try - a couple of players broke off
from a maul over the Hove try line and went to ground exactly the
opposite side of the maul from me. I deliberately hadn't gone into in-goal
as the ball had been at the back of the maul and hadn't crossed the
line [in a previous match I _had_ gone into in-goal in a similar
position and almost missed a grounding at the back of the maul as it
went over!]. They won't catch me out again - I'll find a way!
Good feedback from Dennis after, especially to focus on tackle area
where early in the match I am reacting to the players' standards rather
than setting my own. I had been missing one of the flankers off early at
scrums and we discussed positioning at lineouts. All very useful - I
await the full report.
12 March 2006
U16 Friendly: Brighton 27 v Staines 15
I still hadn't got back into a rhythm after a long break in Dec/Jan, but thought
this one went really well and I was on top of everything apart from both sides
complaining about boring THs [coaches from both side said after that it wasn't
anything that troubled them, but I feel I could have managed it differently].
Three firsts for me:
1. First Penalty Try - Attacker tackled a metre from the try line is
held by ankles and falls forward over the try line as a result of the
tackle. In full control of the ball with both hands. With the ball
about to be grounded (about 8in from the ground) the only other defender
near kicks the ball out of the attacker's hands and into touch in goal.
Quite a few questions after the match from coaches and spectators (they
were on the far touch line from the corner where it happened). No complaints
from anyone once they understood what had happened, but a couple of part
time refs said they didn't know what they would have done.
The 'kicker' justified his actions on the basis that it was OK to
kick a ball from a SH's hands.
2. First match with no collapsed scrums (which was nice) - also the biggest
FR players I have come across.
3. First time I have given double figure penalties in a match! Mervyn will
be pleased :o)
19 Feb 2006
Ladies League: East Grinstead 38 v Hastings 15
My first Ladies match was in the deep mud and rain at EG.
I had picked up that there can be confusion as to the rules for Ladies
and we had questions of numbers and squeeze ball to sort out.
Hastings 24-5 down at half time, but scored 2 tries before EG made it safe.
1 yellow card.
Main differences from other matches I have done were (a) fitness levels and
(b) weak kicking.
8 Feb 2006
U13 Schools: Cottesmore 12 v Cumnor House 15
My first schools game at this age group - a good game and a good experience.
C went 12-0 up, but CH got a try before half time and took advantage of the wind and
one individual's strong running in the 2nd half.
Only issue was collapsing scrums - too many in the 1st half so I went uncontested
for the 2nd as nothing would solve the problem.
5 Feb 2006
U16 League: Crowborough 0 v Haywards Heath 17
Decent match - only two point of note for me. (a) This game has helped
clarify in practice how to judge lifting in the tackle / dangerous tackle
/ spear tackle. First time experience for me and definitely let one go that
I won't again. (b) First mass brawl! There had been a few niggles and moans
during the match, but nothing unsusal (as I am discovering). I wondered
why several players had kept asking me "how long to go?" during the
last 10 minutes, and with 12 seconds to go the brawl broke out - I sensed
after that the players were planning one all along!!! Anyway, I was happy
with how I handled it - having the coaches about 5 metres away helped.
22 Jan 2006
U18 League: Brighton 0 v Haywards Heath 40
My third U18 game. I think both teams were undefeated prior to the match -
pity the only results page that doesn't show any results on the Sussex website is:
this one.
Very good packs - certainly the best quality forward play I have ref'd - though
HH definitely with the edge in the scrum and maul.
33-0 at half time - if anything Brighton had more of the territory in the
2nd half coming close to a couple of scores, but kept out by a strong and
well organised defence.
The game got a bit edgy at times with players fronting up a few times (only
one-on-ones, fortunately) but I managed to get onto them quickly each time.
Both captains were excellent and influential when needed.
Feedback from the coaches afterwards was pretty good (I am still at the stage
where I regard coach feedback as crucial as doing the game itself). One said it's
always a good sign when no-one's talking about the ref at the end of the match
and he hadn't heard a word!
They were very positive about letting the game flow (one even mentioned this aspect
was better some of the refs he has seen doing county games - I enjoyed that
one, even if he was only being nice!). They thought lineouts and scrums
were v good, 'incident' management good and mauls OK. Negative comments were:
(a) managing the tackle area (one team complained that the other was up
to some dirty stuff), and (b) not being authoritative enough in the
pre-match chat - perhaps I need an U15 version and an U18 version.
Overall, I'm starting to spot more things at the breakdown and penalise some
new offences (for me) - still work-in-progress, though. Probably 7-8
penalties in the match which is at my high end (I know you're monitoring
this, Mervyn!!!).
A really good game for me at this level, the only downside being that my
calf went just before half time again. I didn't mind the discomfort 2nd
half, but I hate not being able to run flat out.
15 Jan 2006
U15 League Haywards Heath "B" 7 v Midhurst 29
Only two aspects to report.
1. Gave my first red card! HH were attacking with play at the Midhurst
22m line and to the right of the posts. HH won the ball which they
passed left along their back line. Their winger received the ball and
was running at speed about 10m from touch with few players nearby. The
Midhurst player ran diagonally towards the approaching
ball carrier, made no attempt at a tackle, instead used his foot to
make contact with the ball carrier's lower leg bringing him to ground
near Midhurst's 22m line. Midhurst coach handled things well after.
2. HH "A" played on a nearby pitch with a slightly earlier start and
brought over their (unused) replacement from that match as replacements in this one.
Midhurst spotted this straight away and raised it with me. I didn't know
what the league's position was with this, but the HH coach explained that
the league had OK'd this (except for county players). Midhurst seemed
surprised, but accepted it. What I could have done without was the having
to stop the game to deal with it. HH could easily explain the situation
to teams before the start.
8 Jan 2006
U14 Friendly: Lewes 19 v Worthing 27
My 10th match and first game since November because of calf injury, flu and Xmas and
I felt rusty and slow.
Worthing made a very strong start, but Lewes came back well in the 2nd half
after several Worthing replacements.
Too many wheeled scrums - I need to be better at spotting the causes and penalise.
Calf got through the game OK which was a real bonus - ready to get
back into the routine now and do more training.
11 Dec 2005
Part 2 of RFU Society Refs Course at Crawley
Including exam - passed - just! Ran touch for PhilB as team of 3.
27 November 2005:
U18 League: Uckfield 0 v East Grinstead 15
First U18 league game for me (after a couple of late re-appointments) and it
went really well, especially as ...
First words on arrival from both coaches and a skipper were "There
something you need to be aware of" ... Closely followed by "There's
a bit of history ..."! In this case the two teams had met recently
with a few yellow cards and a red (for tripping) in what sounded a
generally unsatisfactory game and the hints to me were that
the game would need to be ref'd very tightly - not my natural way of doing
things at all!!!
We had some high tackles, attempted trips, some minor tussles, a dangerous tackle a
couple of careless feet - plus the rucks, mauls and tackles were intense for
most of the match. Two complaints about punches and one of jumping into
a tackle. Nearest to a yellow was a replacement
prop who within a minute or so of coming on thought there was space for his feet
near to a player on the ground in a ruck - problem was his feet were too big for the
space available.
I was happy to let the odd player have a moan about some things because
I thought it was a way of helping them get something off their chest (with
some calming words from me, of course!) and not take things into their own hands.
I also took an approach after some offences of not calling a player over to me for a
chat but instead talking to him at a distance so that all his teammates and opposition
(plus coaches and crowd!) got the message, too.
I'd like to claim a tiny part of the credit for preventing this match getting out of control,
but I think the coaches of both teams must have done a good job with their players
prior to the match to focus minds on the rugby. Having said that, both camps had real concerns
about how this match would pan out - and I think the camp which knew of my
lack of experience was a bit nervous when they saw they had me for this game!!!
Play itself was evenly contested for long periods, mostly between the 22s. EG's first
try was a tight call, but I saw the ball grounded for a split second before a defender's
hand got underneath it (confirmed by an Uckfield spectator afterwards) and for their second
the ball was placed on the line OK, but only the nearest egde of it, so Uckfield were 10
points down on the basis of a fraction of a second and about 1cm.
I had feedback that I had missed some hands in rucks and sometimes didn't get the tackled
players away quickly enough in the first half, which I accept, but felt I did well
considering I was having to look out for and manage so much 'stuff' - definitely an "eyes in
the back of the head" match! My ref coach will be happy that my penalty count has been more realistic
for the past two matches - getting towards double figures, even, Mervyn :o)
Highlights of the match for me were seeing the broad smiles from both sets of players
coming off the pitch and getting so many enthusiastic comments from them about how well the game
had gone.
This was my most enjoyable match yet. My HH v Lewes U15 match a couple of weeks ago was a
challenge and I didn't enjoy the drive home thinking about it. This was a challenge and
nice drive home.
23 Nov 2005
U18 Schools: Weald II 19 v Bognor 10
13 Nov 2005
U15: County Trials at Christs Hospital School
6 November 2005:
U15 League: Haywards Heath 5 v Lewes 0
Conditions: Muddy, windy and wet.
I was down to do the U14 match but HH requested a switch. I knew from websites that HH were a/the top side in this age group and I had ref'd Lewes recently in a big win, but without realising that these teams were so evenly matched and great rivals (both Sussex finalists last year?).
This was a really good learning match for me - a big step up in overall match intensity as well as difficult pitch conditions for the first time. OK for me (I think they call this "being stretched"), but on the day the match would have been better off (and quite honestly deserved) a more experienced ref.
Valuable feedback after from Ref Steve of HH who ran touch, sensible comments from Lewes afterwards, but no chance to hear HH coaches' thoughts [I hope they weren't avoiding me!]. Steve said: (a) I had only given three penalties in the game - maybe not a bad thing per se, but in a match of this type and in these conditions was 'a sign' (my term), (b) I was calling the rucks well enough and calling halts when it was too slow and letting the players know, and (c) there were several boot related injuries (only one of which I saw). Steve said that the root cause of most of this was not getting the tackled player, and to some extent the tackler, away from the ball on the floor. I haven't had to manage the tackle area in previous matches (as I have reported before they have been very tidy) - it's now clear I had been lucky! I have now seen first hand exactly what I have read and heard others talking about and will handle this very differently in future.
Discipline:
This was a hard played match. A growing number of players of both sides through the first half were commenting to me that their oppos were up to no good - holding players off the ball, careless feet, fringing off- ide. Initially, this was quiet, seemingly genuine information, but it turned into moans which turned into teams exchanging advice to one another - some players got a bit angry, but nothing stupid resulting and no cards. I need to judge better the borderline between OK and not OK - I know some have a zero tolerance, but I'm not comfortable telling this age group they can't talk to me at all - sometimes they have a genuine question or misunderstanding of the laws that deserves an answer.
There was one particular injury - accepted afterwards by all, I think, to have been a boot to face. I know how serious this is and it could have produced my first red card. The problem was it happened just as I had just turned my head away as I had seen two other players doing somemild wrestling on the ground away from play. I think I was just unlucky to miss this one. Players all OK after and the coach of the unknown alleged offender was keen to clear up with me what had happened so he could stress safety issues at training.
Scrums:
Went well despite the conditions - only real issue was the props on one side setting up too far from each other. I spotted one of these wasn't doing the T very well in C-T-H-E and not binding properly, so got it sorted - OK for me as someone who is not very 'binding aware' - yet!
Line-outs:
Still more for me to do on the 'hold 10' at resulting mauls.
Mauls:
A few problems with players pulling others out of mauls. I managed these, but looking back I should have penalised some.
Positioning:
A big improvement after feedback from coaching advisor - not perfect yet, but you'd have seen the difference, Phil!
Laws:
Lewes almost scored a try which would have changed the result of this match. It was very tight, but the player's hand lost contact with the ball as he stretched out to ground it. I was close enough with a very clear view and have no doubt about what happened. It's got me thinking, though, about a few 'what ifs' that I will seek some advice on.
Overall, this match felt like one step forward (positioning) and one step back (tackle area) ... and the backward one feels bigger!
30 Oct 2005
U18 League: EG v Chi
First experience running touch as a 'team of 3'. Didn't have to do very much, but a useful experience and a good warm down after my game in the morning - thanks David T.
30 Oct 2005
U15 League: East Grinstead 21 v Chichester 12
This was my 6th match and it was great to be involved in one that was
evenly contested (scores from my first 5 matches were an average of 64
points to the winners and a TOTAL of 12 to the losers!).
Also a new experience was having a coaching advisor present.
[The third new experience was rain - not much, but as a glasses wearer it was a relief to know it had no effect].
Match conditions were windy - going: good to soft.
Chi started the stronger with lots of territorial advantage, but only a small lead due to good defensive organisation and excellent tackling from EG, in fact both teams tackled brilliantly all day, especially in head-on tackles - excellent.
EG came back well to win, holding out several Chi attacks near the end.
Unlike other U15 matches I have done there was a reasonable level of tactical kicking in this game - not too much, but nice to see players thinking about variety and making use of the conditions.
Highly knowledgeable and thoughtful feedback from Phil Holley after the match - thank you Phil.
I took it as positive overall (a big boost for me because even when getting good comments from coaches in previous matches I've wondered how many were just being nice), but several points to work on (of course!).
The following may be selective memory on my part, but ...
Positives included:
- Looked and acted like a ref [Worthing V and Horsham III would be amazed to hear this after my 'interesting' first match last season!].
- Advantage.
- Maul management.
- Looking behind at players after kicks ahead (I didn't know I did this!).
- Penalties [are you listening Mervyn?] - called some good ones including hand across a face at a lineout, a 'within 10m' at a kick and an odd offside [my Mervyn reference is because I spoke to him during the week about my worryingly(?) low penalty count of about 1 per match - I think this match was up to 4!].
- Signals (with one exception - below).
Non-positives included:
- Forgetting the "Touch" in the scum engagements (this was a real surprise as I have been v good in previous matches) - a general point for me arising from this is not to take for granted that things that have been going well before.
- Not signalling the reason for penalties.
- Don't stand centrally when at the back of a lineout.
- Positioning and offside lines - the classic staying too close and square on at R/M/S and not managing the lines.
- Use greater variety in whistle tone.
I am very aware that U15/U16 matches don't have some of the elements of the adult game, eg full on scrums, but I'm finding it a great level for starting out and I enjoy the enthusiasm generated by the decent sized crowds.
Coaching Report Here.
23 Oct 2005
Part 1 of RFU Society Refs Course at Crawley
Run by Mervyn, Phil B and Ian.
Foundation Course Part II Exam
20 October 2005 - Hove
20 Oct 2005
U15 Sch Cup: Warden Park 65 v Varndean 0
Realy good game - on top of things, but watch out for rabit holes down one end of pitch!
16 Oct 2005 - U15 League: Lewes 46 v Pulborough 0
Good game, but I'd really like some closer games to ref.
9 Oct 2005 - U16 League: Crawley 81 v Bognor 0
Conditions bright & warm!.
Saw from the Crawley website that they have a strong team in this age group and so it proved.
Bognor showed impressive commitment which never wavered - hard tacking, determined running and big effort in rucks and mauls, but Crawley also had all that, plus greater strength and speed through the team.
Discipline:
First time I've had a match with problems.
1st half at a line out two forwards were winding each other up something rotten and tempers were raised (one was said to have verbally threatened a punch, but not in my earshot). Took the two to one side plus skippers and had words - didn't feel I could penalise either as I observed it as 50:50.
Incident in 2nd half was more serious with two players after a maul pushing, shoving and shouting at each other, continuing well after the whistle(s!). The verbals carried on even after they were separated. Gave them a talk after things eventually calmed a bit and binned them (my first!) together with a loud "Coaches, if you want to keep them off that's fine by me" (or similar) - which they did. Coaches from both sides said after the match that they were clear yellows and clearly not reds and I couldn't have handled the episode any differently, which was all good to hear.
After this I kept reminding all the players to "play rugby", "no more of that" and stuff, plus blew a lot earlier at rucks and mauls for the rest of the game and told them why.
Scrums:
Went well with no problems. Crawley usually advancing and reacting well to my calls for 1.5m. Strikes against the head both ways (pleasing). I am starting to move to different position around the scrum - a first for me.
Line-outs:
Good. I am now starting to signal the 'hold 10' at resulting mauls.
Rucks & Mauls:
A lot of very physical play and occasional complaint about foul play (I didn't see any). I do move around a bit, but I think I might be developing a habit of favouring the side of the touchline with most spectators - I could be dreaming it … or could it be a defense mechanism (not wanting to miss anything they might see)?
Running lines:
Improving now I have my hamstrings back and no problems keeping up today.
Laws:
(a) A TJ wanted to award a try that I wasn't convinced about (but he was in a better position). I said I wasn't allowed to give it based on a TJ say so.
(b) I need to check the call when the ball hits the corner post before going into touch!
Overall, more new experiences to learn from, but I left the match thinking Bognor really didn't deserve that scoreline.
First assessment imminent!!!
2 Oct 2005 - U15 Lge: Brighton 12 v Crawley 50
My 2nd 15-a-side game!
Conditions bright & windy.
Expected Brighton v Tunbridge Wells friendly, but apparently fixture list has changed for U15 and some people are working from the old one.
Crawley played down wind 1st half, scored straight away and had the first half all their own way (31-0). Early on Brighton seemed to be lacking a bit of determination and were less organised whilst Crawley got stuck straight into their game.
2nd half was much more evenly contested with Brighton making good ground with the forwards and kicking with the wind, but Crawley backs were quicker.
I really enjoyed this one and coaches from both sides were complimentary: "really good game" and "be pleased to have you back" were firsts for me!!!
Scrums:
Had 3 in a row come straight back out the tunnel by Brighton - LH was standing with left foot well back and couldn't help keep poorly hooked balls in. I gave a FK to Crawley on the 3rd - was this a good way of dealing with this?
Wheeled too often late in the 1st half, but I don't know why - got front rows away for a chat early in the second half and kept nagging the props for the rest of the game. OK in the end.
Line-outs:
Straight all day!
Only issue was FHs coming in early when held in. I haven't got into a reliable routine of signaling to backs at line-outs, but even the times I did it was ignored.
Rucks & Mauls:
Might have let a few rucks go on too long.
Not convinced I saw offsides very well - too much ball watching?
Running lines:
Not bad, I am more aware of running lines now during a match, but to be honest I was looking for short cuts to ease the load on my hamstrings on this occasion (injury from the U18 Tens on Wednesday). I don't think (and was told) it didn't affect the game, but looking back I probably should have pulled out of this match on Thurs/Fri. Any advice on how to make these decisions?
Laws:
I am (for the first time) happy that I applied the right laws for the decisions I made, though whether I saw the right things or interpreted what I saw correctly is open to question - for example, there were two very close calls for grounding for tries - I gave both as OK, but they were really tight and probably not strictly "beyond all reasonable doubt".
A game played hard by both teams - tough tackling and strong mauls. One minor skirmish between two players, shoves but no punches - near the touch line and so a coach stepped in and got his player away very quickly
Third Outing - 28 September 2005
Schools U18 Tens - Brighton
Three pitches and about 15 teams. Conditions grey, windy and one shower.
Well, this was the next step of my great venture into the unknown! I'd never seen a Tens match and there were no rules to read prior to turning up or any tournament details handed out.
I've also never ref'd U18, but have seen a couple of 15-a-side games and was warned the pace would be very quick. I found it quick but not a problem until the last two games when my hamstrings tightened badly - 4 hours continuously on my feet with 7 games and no proper break was simply too much. Concentration went a little in match 6, too. The other downside was that there was no chance to watch the other refs or learn anything from them.
Anyway, having hoped for a low-key first match (I'd actually have preferred watching one first), the first coach I meet for Match One shakes my hand and says "Hello, I'm Ian Davies"! [Ian has coached the top two senior teams in the county in the past 4-5 years]. I am really not used to being in such company!
In terms of the matches, I was impressed with the quality and attitude of all the players - I had been expecting some novice players, but they all knew what they were doing and were well organised. Teachers / coaches were excellent (I heard very few comments from them about decisions during the games - the only one I was a bit disappointed with was one who insisted to me after a try that it had been bounced not grounded - I was 1m away and he was about 35m!).
In terms of how I did (based on my thoughts rather than feedback):
Boot inspections:
Rejected 3 pairs!
Scrums:
At the first engagement each match I asked for "perfect scrums today, please" … and got them! Only one re-set for wheeling, 3 straight-outs and one illegal strike from a LH in the team putting in who hooked it with his outside foot as it left the SH's hands and thought he was allowed to do it. I knew he was wrong but didn't give him a good explanation and have since re-read the laws.
Line-outs:
Almost none in the early matches, but more later in the day (I got the impression that teams were either getting smarter by kicking for territory to protect leads or were just getting to tired to run everything). I didn't manage the offside at all in my first match back in April, so was pleased to start getting on top of this. However, I think I made a mess of numbers in the line and positioning of receivers - some swotting to do on this. Any input anyone?
Tackle:
No problems going off feet (that I saw!). 3 high tackles during the day (all due to over-enthusiasm rather than malicious).
Rucks:
Was very vocal on this, in contrast to my two previous outings, and with good results, though fewer than 15-a-side seems to make life easier in this respect. One (mild) boot on body to deal with.
Mauls:
I think is an area I have got on top of OK. See what the assessor says when I'm due (soon)!
Running lines:
A big weakness previously creating a lot of unsighted play, so I had focused some thinking on this beforehand. Not too bad this time, but a way to go before it's instinctive.
Positioning:
Not good after ruck/maul formation - too close and sometimes in the way. Plus, not looking often enough for backs offside. Could use some ideas on this.
Laws:
I've mentioned the prop striking - there were two other law related incidents. One was a knock on by attacking player in goal who had carried it in (I wasn't at all sure 22m or scrum 5, but happened to guess the right one - didn't like guessing!). The other was a quick line-out that wasn't straight (while I was trying to think this through the other team took the ball for their throw in, so I let them!).
The major negative on the day was one guy who broke his ankle very badly. Teacher and teammates did a great job being with him. All I felt I could do was get an ambulance called asap (it was clearly a major injury so we had someone with a mobile calling within about 30 seconds of him going down) and make sure there was a clear route for it to get onto the pitch. I also checked that area of the pitch afterwards for any holes/problems - saw none. Any comments/tips on dealing with serious injuries would be welcome (I don't remember it being covered on my foundation course and having not been a player, I have no experience to call on).
The big test of some of my (claimed!) improvements will come in the 15-a-side games coming up (mostly U15 in October).
It's been a strange start to reffing: three outings - one senior 15-a-side, a junior Sevens (mostly U14s for me) and an U18s Tens tournament. And spread over 2 seasons.
Second Outing - 1 May 2005
Worthing Junior Sevens
After my dodgy first outing a few weeks back (details below) I was
really glad to have the chance to get back in the middle before the
summer break.
Given my novice status I was expecting only to be asked/allowed to do 2 or 3
of the early group games in this festival before the experienced refs took
over. Also, I was expecting to be restricted to the U13s, but
ended up doing 8 games - an U16 and an U15, but mostly U14 - including a
semi-final (maybe no big deal for anyone else there, but some feel-good factor for me).
Apart from cramping up in the calves near the end of a very warm afternoon, I
enjoyed the whole day.
Feedback from two senior refs were mainly about positioning - standing
in the defensive line (I tried to put this into practice later, but not very
successfully - I think there is so much I have to deliberately think about
in terms of decision making that best positioning may take me time). Also, I wasn't
following play closely enough when the ball was moved well away from contact areas.
I don't know if these are both examples where having never played the game means
that I'm lacking a natural instinct of moving around the pitch or predicting play.
I made some clear mistakes on the day:
- I disallowed a quick line out [correctly], but gave a free kick instead of
re-take (as soon as I'd blown and signalled it didn't feel right). Sorry Phil!
- I was a bit generous on 2 or 3 forward passes in one game.
- I didn't call 2 scrums that turned (I don't think I was tuned into this
possibility in a 7s game).
- I made a team re-take a conversion that they took from behind the posts - I had never heard of that one.
- I forgot to re-start the watch once at a half time and once after an injury (no-one noticed!).
There were also other things I feel I could have done better:
- Getting tacklers away, though I don't think it caused real problems in 7s
where there are far fewer other bodies arriving (I'll have to do much better in 15s).
- Managing 10 metres at quick penalties.
- Players entering mauls correctly.
Overall, (and in total contrast to my first match!) I came away thinking I'd
done a pretty good job! But then two thoughts arise - is that because 7s
and/or these age groups are much easier (including being able to see more
of what's going on and the chance to think through things between matches)
and in the same way that I may have been too negative about by first match
am I being too positive after these?
Further feedback by e-mail from a couple of people who were there will help decide!
Finally, in the report on my first match I commented that for the first half
I felt I was on the pitch, but not involved. I was in watching mode and
didn't feel part of the game. I got that feeling only very briefly yesterday
in 2 matches near the middle of the day, but got myself out of 'watching mode'
and into 'involved and in charge mode' fairly quickly. I need to
realise that the first whistle is to get me kick-started as much as the players.
The chance to do these 7s was perfect for me at this stage.
Eeeeek!!! ..... First Match - 9 April 2005
Worthing V v Horsham III [Sussex Div 3 West]
Well, if it's true that people learn from their mistakes you wouldn't believe
how much this taught me!
The biggest relief to me was that what I did or didn't do on the day didn't
affect the result: Worthing 0 Horsham 88. This reflected the teams' league positions
and Horsham's stronger pack, faster backs and better organisation on the day.
First question to me afterwards by a ref from another game was "Did you enjoy it?".
Actually, there was nothing about the first half that I enjoyed - there was
a game of rugby going on, I was on the field, but there was little relationship
between the two. There were a few periods in the second half where things
flowed a bit for me and I felt I was being useful ... I know I can do so much better
than this!
Below is a list of points, comments from me and (mostly) from the players and supporters
from the clubs afterwards who were all very understanding and polite. These notes are
a reminder to me, an invitation to others to offer any help they might. If anything helps
any other novice refs that would be a bonus.
I hadn't told anyone involved in the match beforehand that this was my first
game - my logic (right or wrong?) was to prevent any players taking advantage
of this. Looking back it might have been better to put at least the captains
in the picture and ask for their support. Of course, everyone spotted very
quickly, anyway, that I was struggling!
I'll get the few positives out of the way before listing the 'learning points':
- I was brave enough to go the bar for the post-match comments and I haven't given up
after one match :o)
- When jogging around the pitch before the match I noticed and removed 20-30
bits of branches (some very sharp) that had blown from nearby trees. Safety
first. With so much on my mind I could easily have forgotten to do this.
- We kicked off on time!
- It was a good move deciding to call captains together part way through
the first half when I thought there were too many
comments from players about things I'd missed. I don't know how much to expect,
but it got to the stage where it was affecting my concentration (I'm sure
the chatting was the result of their opinions on how I was doing generally, not just
missed knock-on, hand in ruck, etc). I said to the captains something
like "I really need your help here. I can't see everything and I'm giving what
I see, so please tell your players to cut the comments - it's not helping". They instantly passed
this on in loud voices and at quietened down for the rest of the game (back to
what I found an acceptable level).
- Into the second half, blue player ended up on the wrong side of a maul and
was still going for the ball. I called to him a couple of times to get out, but
all he did was stay put and put his hands in the air. I call him to get away, but
he didn't move. Just as I was doing this one of the opposition backs charged in and gave
him a shoulder in the back - pretty hard. I dashed across (I was pretty near anyway)
as the forward who took exception was squaring up and stopped it getting worse - or
at least I'm claiming the credit for it! Reversed the penalty.
OK, now the other stuff ...
- PRE-MATCH CHAT was rehearsed, but I was thrown when it was pretty
clear we would be uncontested from the off. Bad start for credibility -
LEARNING: contingency planning and get a lot more experience in 'easy' matches.
- TACKLE situations were generally messy with very few rucks resulting -
LEARNING: move around more to improve sighting and blow earlier for pile up.
- HIGH TACKLES seem to be judged differently at this level than the 1st XV
rugby I watch. One tackle I let go and called 'bordeline, play on" - it was
an arm (not swinging) across the chest and hand on the front of the shoulder.
Told afterward this was too high and that I'd missed a couple of others.
LEARNING: Watch games at this level for experience and pick some brains.
- MAULS when the ball carrier is caught in and trying to get the ball
down [I had a *lot* of this]. Generally they were stationary (having thought
this through since the match) and were just wrestling matches. I watched an
U18 match today and the problem only happen once, I think, and the ref blew
early. I don't know if he sorted it and prevented similar situations or whether
the players were better at making the ball available.
LEARNING: Blow much earlier whilst still giving the player a chance.
- RUCKS were little problem - there were so few, but I suspect I missed a
lot of hands, though at my lowest point in the first half I called a player
for hands where all he did was pick up the ball that had come out of the
back of a ruck - I apologised.
LEARNING: Move around more - too much time infield.
- TRY GIVEN when later I realised I hadn't seen it grounded - I only saw the
player on the ground with the ball. It was a slow moving maul and I was in-goal
unsighted, though I was pretty sure it was OK that's not enough.
LEARNING: Be sure what I've seen - no assumptions.
- CONVERSION missed - no not the kick, missed by me! My pattern was to put
tries on my card while walking back to where the kicker would (normally) go for
the conversion. On one occasion he took a drop kick from much closer while I was
facing the other way. TJ was OK with the kick, but Ooooops!
LEARNING: Mark score card for tries after the kick.
- Offside lines not managed - at all! I was so keen to stop missing things around
the ball from early on that I didn't look behind me once and didn't even check the
backs when I was facing the right direction. I was told afterwards they managed
themselves very well, but this is a major point for me.
LEARNING: It's probably something to do with positioning, but more to do with
developing good habits ... develop a pattern of looking and signaling and use it.
- LOOKING THE PART: An ex-ref afterwards had a long chat with me and one of the
things he said was to dress like a ref, including a tie.
LEARNING: I go along with look-the-part, but I'm not sure about the tie - what
do others do?
- Other comment he made was PRE-MATCH routine: Do more with the teams before
going onto the pitch. Don't wait till everyone is heading for the pitch to start
the game before asking for TJs. Get the match ball early and take it onto the pitch.
LEARNING: Re-think my pattern.
- ADVANTAGE I thought I did reasonably well in the second half with calling /
signaling / judging and the feedback from players after even included the word
"good"! But other feedback was that I was weak and played on more than once where
there was no advantage.
LEARNING: Build on second half - and get more feedback after my next game.
Conclusion
It's clear the ref had a bad one!
Once people were made aware it was my first game, they
were very kind and some even said given that, that I did well, but I left confused about
whether they really meant it or were being too kind, and whether those who said (with a big
smile on their face) "that was ****, sir" meant the words or the smile!
Whatever the opposite of 'whistle happy' is, I think I was it.
I need to sort out pre-match. I need to move around more/better (this mattered much less when I
reffed minis because I could see over all their heads!), look around more, talk more (than I
did in the first half at least) and signal more. I need to blow sooner at some mauls. I
*must* manage offside lines.
The one statement that does most to keep me going was "we've had worse". I don't care if
it was a lie, it was my only highlight of a bad day!!!
PS - If anyone says I was slow around the pitch, it was because I tweaked an
existing hamstring injury after 15 mins :o)
PPS - Did I mention that I blew too early for the end of the first half? :o(
Foundation Course Part I
10th & 17th March 2005 - Horsham
