Re: Andre Watson and the scrums

In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
 John Cawston <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Ben Clegg wrote:

<<stuff deleted>>

> > Watson
> > is likely to have been the referee rated highest by assessors during the
> > tournament (or at least the highest rated whose home country wasn't
> > playing in the final).
> 
> Watson is right up there. But so is Honess, but he's too picky, too correct 
> in many
> games and he can make for a frustrating game. Andre wants the game to flpw 
> and
> usually does a good job. The final is really a tribute to his management.

In general, as the appointment for the final loomed Watson and Kaplan 
seemed to be getting the most mentions from people who have been 
involved in refereeing assessment -- the tip for the future from these 
same guys seems to be Alain Rolland. 

It is really hard to figure out exactly what the basis for such 
appointments is, given that so much is not just about the application of 
the laws. It is a shame that the process can't be a little more 
transparent, but I'm sure there would be the potential for a backlash if 
a referee's low performance score was published after a team lost a 
close game. Perhaps though some kind of summary stats could appear 
periodically.

> Point taken. But my understanding is that he *was* being advised from the 
> sideline.

Absolutely. I think it would be interesting to see the effect on 
referee's decision making of comments from touch judges -- at the very 
least it must change your perceptions of certain aspects of the game.

> Andre's comments are not inconsistent with that as he takes responsibility 
> for his
> actions on the field. In fact, his future decision making would be open to
> criticism if he weakly stated that he was told what to do from the sideline.

It was interesting to note that several referees explicitly took to 
telling sides when the call came from the sidelines. I wonder as the 
idea of teams of referees (using the touch judges and the video ref to 
aid in the process) takes hold what the accepted practice will become.

But anyway, I agree that it would be hard to tell exactly what 
information Watson was using because he does seem like the type of make 
it clear that the buck stops with him.


      Cheers,

         Ben