A rant about the Ref

Photo courtesy of Zimbio.com

It was a case of deja vu in last nights game between the All Blacks and Argentina.

For the past couple of months it feels as though each weekend of rugby, there is always a controversial moment with the game's officials.

The first Bledisloe Cup test match in Sydney had one, last night's All Black vs Pumas match had one and so did the Wallabies vs Springboks game in Perth.

Questions have continually been raised as to why the officiating seems to be in decline, with so many top level referee's just not cutting the mustard.

When Wyatt Crockett was wrongly sin binned against the Wallabies in Sydney, it could well have been the turning point in the game, and if the Aussies had capitalised the game perhaps would have not ended in a 12 all stalemate.

Last night in the first 5 minutes of the game, a perfectly waited kick from Beauden Barrett to wing Julian Savea looked as though it would lead to a try, however an early tackle by Horacio Agulla which was missed by BOTH the linesman and the main main in the middle Pascal Gauzere.

This was followed up by probably one of the worst decisions I personally have ever witnessed on a rugby field.

In the 57th minute, Argentina down 18-6, Leonardo Senatore timed his run to perfection and charged down a chip kick from Ma'a Nonu, re gathered and stormed away over the try line.

In the age of technology, a number of different camera angles as well as two linesman and a man upstairs it is baffling how this decision was made.

It followed a previous moment in the match where the ref used the big screen at the ground to change a decision ruled on an Israel Dagg kick and his position in his team's own 22m area.

How on earth can it be used for something so simple but yet it was overlooked for a charge down.

For so many fans voicing their opinions via social media, it seems the unrest and disappointment regarding the ref continues to grow.

Time is well and truly up for the IRB to address the obvious when it comes to the referee's as well as consulting with SANZAR to come up with a solution.

I dream of a day when rugby games are no longer dictated by mistakes made by the ref. Yes i know he is human and i expect mistakes, but it seems that the ones we have seen this year are more and more having an impact on the result of a match when it could be easily avoided by using the technology avaliable.

Please IRB, dont let the man with the whistle continue to take away from the spectacle of a test match.

I fear one of these mistakes to be made in next year's World Cup, a knock out stage, potentially robbing a team of a win.