Leinster v Ulster Mon Jan 1 5:15pm KO

[Cap'n Grumpy]

Rumn
I will say this once again and once again only.

I am not trying to convince you that Frank Murphy is not predictable - quite the opposite - he is very predictable. In all the scenarios you list, he has penalised Ulster and Leinster the same way. That is what we need in a referee. What you call predictable, I say is consitent. He penalises both teams equally, for the same offences.

I am not trying to convince you that he doesn't look for offences - of course he does. All referees look for offences - that is their job. The best referees look for the most likely infringements in each scenario, based on previous experience of both teams and on anything which may have been brought to his attention during the game or before.

I am not trfying to convince you that he doesnt miss some offences. All referees miss offences or sometimes have to decide which of 2/3 offences to penalise when they occur almost simultaneously. The best referees punish the offences most likely to have an impact on the play, and allow play to continue if an infringement would not materially affect the play. If they stopped the game for ever infringement, Rugby would last as long as an American football match or longer.

Unfortunately most fans tend to see infringements by the opposition and turn a Nelsonian eye to those of their own team, but when those do get called, the ref is then either biased or incompetent. Frank Murphy is neither. He's not the best referee around, but he's nowhere near as poor as you imply, and he's also far from the worst. He's definitely not biased either, despite some assuming that because of his past connections, that he dislikes Ulster (or Leinster).

[rumncoke]

Capt I would seriously disagree with the concept that referees are meant to LOOK for offences they are meant to penalise offence that they see as they occur not anticipate an offence and blow for it. By anticipating an offence being made by one side you become blind to the offences of the other team . Similiarly anticipation of an offence leaves a referee open to bias Just because both teams and both sets of supports accuse of bias doesn't mean you have not been biased since not all penalties will be game changing.

eg I give Ulster 10 penalties in their own half and say leinster 10 penalties 4 of which can be kicked into corner those 4 penalties can be match winners while the 4 awarded to Ulster only change the area of play to within the area between half way line and 10 metre line .


Capt I don't judge a referee by what he gives but by what he fails to give and were he gives the penalty. It sorts the men from the boys .

And the home town referees from the open minded.


Consistency can frequently mean being consistently bad

The one thing I will say is that laws of the game and guidance to referees may be such that the task is nearly impossible

take your point of a breakdown where both failing to rollaway and holding occur who do you penalise and is either offence worth 7 points in the good old days the ref would have called a scrum to the side in possession and not a dubious penalty

[Dave]

Rumn
I will say this once again and once again only.

I vill only zay dis vunce....

Don't tell em, Pike!

[CIMANFOREVER]

Cap'n has the patience of a Saint. I did a Justin and stopped reading at Rumn......

[HammerTime]

Hate to see if we lost.

[Cap'n Grumpy]

Rumn
I will say this once again and once again only.

I vill only zay dis vunce....

Don't tell em, Pike!

I vill zay dis only vunce . . . .

Don't tell him Pike!

But to be fair, if I hadn't looked at your post, I wouldn't have spotted that it was misquoted.

Although one of my assistants might have informed me . . .


At least yer not predictable Dave ...

[mid ulster maestro]

An interesting take on the game from One F.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTbZDb4iLVc