Refs the 'key players' at World Cup
This is the view of England's 2003 World Cup winner Jason Leonard, who said players will have to use their brains as much as their brawn when the global showpiece gets underway later this month.
Leonard, speaking to rugby365, said refereeing is "a huge part of the game" and experience in the teams will have to come to the front.
"You have to be thinking on the field," he said.
"You have to think: 'How can I engage with the referee'.
"You have to know what is going on, you have to interpret what the referee wants.
"At the end of the day the most important person on the pitch is the referee – you can only play to what the referee allows you to play."
He said teams have to understand that and as a group the players must get together quickly and say: 'The referee is telling us this or telling us we can't do that'.
"You must get on with it, change your game to work with the referee," Leonard said, adding: "That was one of the things that counted against England [when they lost to France in Paris a fortnight ago].
"Jaco [Peyper, who was in charge that day] is a solid referee, he is a good referee. I have seen him a number of times.
"From an English point of view, the disappointment was that – with the World Cup just around the corner – everyone want to make an impression and I think it was people [players] being overenthusiastic, trying to win the ball or trying to make that big tackle.
"Those were players trying to catch the selectors' eyes and getting selected for the World Cup.
"Those are the moments you need to say: 'Calm down guys, let's play the game collectively'.
"In the World Cup, when you make those mistakes – make a rash call, lose the ball – when you play against teams like France, New Zealand, South Africa and, they will punish you for it.
"You have to make sure you keep those penalties to the bare minimum."
Another aspect of the game that will have a massive influence on the outcome of games is the scrums.
Leonard said even though the game has changed and there are less scrums, it remains a vital facet.
"It just means the scrums you do have are more important," he told rugby365, adding: "You got to have a good, solid platform to ensure you are able to provide quality ball for your backs.
"England have not become a bad pack overnight. In their own words, they had a bad day at the office against France in Paris."
Then there is the breakdown, where each referee sees it differently as well.
"Some referees are very hard on the tackler to roll away and some are not as hard on the tackler.
"They are more focussed on the person competing for the ball. Again, you just have to assess the referee, how he wants to play the game and then you change your game accordingly – that is what you have to do.
"You look at New Zealand, the best team in the world at this time. You look at the experience they have in their team – your Richie McCaws, your Dan Carters, your Tony Woodcocks.
"If a referee starts refereeing the game a certain way they are very quick to adapt.
"That is why they are the best team in the world – they have these fantastic players that can adapt and think on their feet.
"That will be the type of side that will be competitive in the upcoming World Cup."
By Jan de Koning
@King365ed
@rugby365com
* This interview was made possible by leading energy company SSE, the Official Presenting Partner of Building Jerusalem and is giving its customers an exclusive ticket offer for the one-night-only cinema release on 1st September via ssereward.com
* Don't miss Part Three of our interview with Jason Leonard, when he talks about the World Cup's one-hit wonders and give us his predictions.
