Brian Smith rapped on the knuckles

Noopti

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/english/7912721.stm

England's ref complaints rejected
Referee Jonathan Kaplan lectures Steve Borthwick at the Millennium Stadium
Borthwick (right) is given a stern talking to by referee Jonathan Kaplan

England backs coach Brian Smith has been reprimanded for his criticism of Jonathan Kaplan's refereeing in the Six Nations match against Wales.

Smith accused him of not being even-handed with England, claiming he had been swayed by the Wales management.

"Comments that appear to question the performance of Kaplan were unwarranted," said the International Rugby Board in a statement.

"The official review of the match ranks Kaplan's performance as high."

The statement added: "The IRB is satisfied that Kaplan followed the correct protocol for addressing both teams on and off the field and dealt with England and Wales in a fair and professional manner and refereed what was in front of him.

"An official process exists for unions to give feedback to the IRB on refereeing performances.

"IRB referee manager Paddy O'Brien and the Rugby Football Union elite rugby director Rob Andrew shared a very positive meeting on Monday, which makes the timing of the comments regrettable and unfortunate."

606: DEBATE
Is this a sign of panic, an attempt to create a ready-made excuse should they lose, or do they have a case?

scrumdown2

Smith had not held back in his criticism of Kaplan, who he believed had come under pressure from Wales to find fault in England's play at the breakdown.

"His whole demeanour through that match, the way he addressed our team in the changing room beforehand - he had clearly had heaps of pressure put on by Wales," said Smith, following the 23-15 defeat on 14 February.

"The way our team was addressed prior to the Wales game took me a little bit by surprise. It was clear to me that Wales had done their job in terms of getting stuck into the referee.

"Fair play to them for doing it. Teams are looking at every advantage they can get.

"What we are really trying to say to the refs is: 'Please judge us the same way you judge other teams and do not come into the game with a preconceived idea'."

England face Ireland at Croke Park on Saturday.

Glad they have been told to keep their opinions to themselves. The England management should have just taken a leaf out of Declan Kidneys book:

Reminding us that his father was a member of the Munster Referees’ Association, Kidney said: “The referee has a tough job, especially in a tough game like rugby, where the angle of your view of a situation can influence your decision. I wouldn’t have any comment to make.”

Crash

I've always thought in professional sport there are channels to go through for this sort of thing, and anything else is just being a bit of a git. Statement from the IRB was dead right.

Noopti

Crash wrote: »

I've always thought in professional sport there are channels to go through for this sort of thing, and anything else is just being a bit of a git. Statement from the IRB was dead right.

It looks like they were all chiming in to try and put pressure on refs so that they would be easier on them. Doing that through the approproate channels wouldn't put the same amount of pressure on them as going through the mass media.

Good on the IRB for publicly chastising them!