Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

I don't agree. I think having visible discussion on ref performance would provide clarity and would also allow WR to have consistent messaging with regards to the Laws. It would serve to mitigate the vitriol surrounding decisions and undermine the conspiracy peddling from malign actors.

We've seen the frequent disparity between NH and SH refs around head contact. WR has been silent on this, and it's setting up for inevitable controversy come the WC.

I don't envision it being a punitive affair, outside of egregious actions. Allowing the public to be party to the review of decisions would help in understanding of the job, and better show the difficulties of the job. Teams would also gain insight into the thought processes behind those decisions. It would also allow for WR to improve credibility by highlighting incorrect decisions and hold refs accountable.

Afaik referees at the elite level are fully professional, but not sure.

Those are entirely different things. A person in a position where they're adjudicating others should always be held to public account imo.

It's not like these mistakes aren't already apparent and well highlighted. The videos of incidents are all over social media during and after matches. By saying nothing, WR allows those malign actors to set the narrative.

How is that materially any different from the current status quo?

I'd do it because transparency is generally always a positive thing. One of the biggest criticisms of the NFL for example, is the opacity of officiating.

Referee performances can have career defining impacts on teams and players. I don't think it's unreasonable that there is public accountability at the elite level.

Clarity on referee decisions, why they were made, acknowledgment of major instances missed or mistakes made, dialogue on how successfully various initiatives are being followed or not.

Without looking to endlessly drag a thread down a tangent, I feel it's worth considering the perspective of fans. Rugby as a whole is in a precarious situation, and one of the biggest barriers to engagement for potential viewers of the sport is the complexity of the laws, and the inconsistent enforcement of them. Perception matters, and the game absolutely has issues with refereeing standards. It's not enough imo to simply rely on concepts of respect for the ref. It's a professional sport, funded in large part by fan purchases. Transparency with one of the most impactful aspects of the game would be beneficial.

What do you mean, referee decisions can obviously have massive impact. Joubert in the 2011 final for example, quite literally gave the game to NZ. Owens in the NZ match, where his decisions and non-decisions played a massive part in the outcome.

Well, they don't count for test caps, so why should they count in this analysis. They also don't count for much in Andy Farrell's decision making either as players can go and score a hat trick agains the maori All blacks and get MOTM performances in those games but it doesn't seem to improve their chances of getting selected