Re: Leinster v Ulster Mon Jan 1 5:15pm KO
Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 1:29 pm
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).
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).
