Match officials should face the media after a game to explain any contentious decisions, writes SIMON BORCHARDT.
The vast majority of rugby press conferences are quickly forgotten as players and coaches respond to questions, many uninteresting, with cliches and platitudes. There are exceptions, though, like Connacht’s after a 20-12 loss to Leinster in Dublin last December, which will live long in the memory.
Australian-born Ireland winger Mack Hansen did not hold back in his criticism of referee Chris Busby and TMO Mark Patton, saying that in the first half it felt like Connacht “were getting pressured from what seemed like 16 men against us instead of 15”.
Hansen was particularly aggrieved by a shoulder-to-head cleanout from Leinster inside centre Jordie Barrett on opposite number Bundee Aki that was not looked at by the officials. Busby and Patton did, however, take a lot of time to review two other incidents that resulted in the visitors being penalised on both occasions and winger Shane Jennings yellow-carded for a late, high hit.
“You can hear the frustration in my voice because it’s starting to get to the point where, honestly, it’s bullsh*t and it’s starting to get really frustrating for us because people will say we are an inconsistent team but Jesus Christ, when you are getting some of the calls we’re getting like, of course, you are going to be,” said Hansen.
“I’m not making excuses by any means but like, when you just get it week after week, I feel it’s got to be spoken about because it’s just getting to the point where it’s starting to really piss us off because we just feel we’re getting played out of games and we never ever get any calls.”
Connacht coach Peter Wilkins, sitting alongside Hansen, backed up his player, saying “we all appreciate Mack’s honesty”.
Predictably, in a sport where public criticism of match officials is a grievous sin (just ask Rassie), Hansen was punished by the URC with a six-week ban, three weeks of which were suspended. The 25-year-old also had to apologise to Busby and undertake ‘an appropriate course related to match officiating’, while Connacht were slapped with a €10,000 fine.
That wasn’t the end of it, though, as Busby – who reportedly copped plenty of abuse on social media – later announced that he would be retiring as a professional rugby referee.
In January, URC head of referees Tappe Henning held a media round table to discuss the new laws that had been introduced to the competition. But he also indirectly addressed the Hansen saga by explaining in detail how referees are held accountable for their performances through a comprehensive review process, which I won’t go into here.
What I found most interesting was Henning’s total dismissal of the idea of having a post-match press conference in which match officials could address contentious decisions and explain their thought process for each.
“We do not want to sit [match official] teams in a media conference and ask questions about things when they’re in the wrong,” said Henning. “We will get things wrong at times and put up our hands as referees if we get it wrong. We need to protect our referees from being exposed to unfair questions that are being asked before it’s been verified for accuracy.”
That came across to me as a cop-out. Yes, match officials should be able to go watch the game again when things have calmed down, but these days they’re able to watch several replays during a game before making a decision, while the TMO can alert the referee to anything he’s missed.
If match officials get a decision wrong after spending several minutes reviewing an incident, then they should have to front up after a game, just as captains and coaches do.
Apart from the entertainment value, this would provide much-needed transparency, openness and honesty from match officials who have been a protected species for far too long. If referees do need to “have a skin thicker than an elephant” to do the job – as Henning claims – then they should be able to handle a few tough questions.
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