Kaplan slams sloppy refs
Retired South African referee Jonathan Kaplan has harshly criticised some his former colleagues for the decisions they made in the Rugby Championship and Currie Cup matches over the weekend.
Kaplan used his online column on the RateTheRef website as a platform to blast the officials in charge of some the matches.
"Do I really need to confirm what everyone else already knows… This was not a good weekend for referees!" said the referee who officiated in the highest number of internationals in his lengthy career.
Kaplan highlighted a number of the decisions he deemed as poor and fears they will continue in future, "until key elements of the system are exposed, and then adequately addressed".
Some of the incidents Kaplan mentioned include:
* New Zealand versus Argentina: Kaplan explained that when the score was 18-9, with the home team in control , the Pumas charged down a kick and went on to score. Referee Pascal Gauzere then called the play back for a knock on. Kaplan insists: "It was an error. In an age where technology is available, the referee should have allowed the obvious score, and then checked to see if the knock on only he saw occurred. The fact is that this type of thing should not be tolerated in professional sport. The technology is there. Use it!"
* Australia versus South Africa: Kaplan claims there were countless decisions the referee got wrong. He says the referee deemed that Duane Vermeulen's massive tackle on James Slipper was illegal, but it wasn't and resulted in three points for Australia. The other one he rants about is the one which had most South Africans fuming, Brian Habana's yellow card. On that decision by referee George Clancy, Kaplan writes: "He penalised Habana for a dangerous tackle and was advised by the assistant referee to confer with the TMO to make sure. He did this and bizarrely still wanted to go to his pocket. That was a poor decision. It is wrong if match officials do not understand the sport at the highest level. None of the top 20 officials in the world should be giving a yellow card for that offense."
Kaplan then goes on to slam some the decisions referees made in the Currie Cup matches at the weekend.
* Sharks versus Griquas: "The Griquas loosehead was hinging the whole afternoon and got away with murder. The Sharks tightheads were repeatedly penalised incorrectly and in a tight game, the referee needs to get these calls right. The balance between sanction and management needs to be carefully thought out, as leaning the wrong way can change the shape of the game. No one man should have that power, and education and constant coaching are vital."
* Blue Bulls versus Lions: "The referee did very well on the day, but once again, a poor scrum penalty against a dominant Lions scrum was badly exposed by the TV pundits."
Kaplan said there are too many scrum sanctions for his liking in the modern game.
"Teams and players milk this aspect of the game. It is the most difficult aspect of the game to get right, as referees are being strongly encouraged to blow for infringements and the nett result is that in some games opportunities for playing off attacking scrums are becoming few and far between. What a shame!"
Source: RateTheRef
