| Written by Michael Katzenellenbogen, on 03-03-2008 14:08 |
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Call to suspend Jonker
We are only in the second week of the Super 14 and the referees have taken centre stage in the world’s greatest provincial competition. All eyes have been focused on the Schalk Burger incident at the Shark Tank on Saturday. Burger was cited by the match commissioner for unsportsmanlike behavior when he was yellow carded by Kelvin Deaker for his involvement in a fracas in the Sharks vs Stormers match.
Burger was seen leaving the field gesturing to the touch judge, Willie Roos, who Burger believed had a hand in convincing Deaker to yellow card him. The fact is that Roos added very little to what Deaker had already decided and what sanction he was going to give to Burger. Roos was obligated to flag if he sees any foul play and did so. But this is not what this incident is all about. There is a much more sinister explanation for Burger’s reaction to the yellow card and one that could have been avoided if SARU’s referees department was alert enough.
Willie Roos was the referee in the opening round match between the Stormers and the Bulls and was heavily criticized from all corners for his performance. Even Robbie Deans referred to Roos’s performance as an absolute abortion of the new experimental laws. The Stormers CEO, Rob Wagner, went as far as to lodge an official complaint with SARU Manager of Referees, Andre Watson. Roos’s performance came under immense criticism the whole week in the Cape newspapers, something Burger would have been aware of.
So when Burger saw that Roos had made another useless contribution on touch he must have thought: here we go again. And then to be carded after Deaker called him over was the straw that broke the camels back. What Burger did was inexcusable for a seasoned international, but maybe he wanted to make a statement as to his frustration with Roos.
But here is the kicker: why was Roos running touch at Kings Park? SARU knew that there had been dissatisfaction from the Stormers and yet they did nothing to move Roos to another game. I am of the opinion that if someone else was on touch the Burger incident would never have taken place. Watson’s inability to act has cost one of his referees the respect of the players and couches and probably damaged his career.
Roos is not the only SA referee in trouble. Marius Jonker has come in for some real criticism from Australia and New Zealand for his handling of the Waratahs vs. Chiefs match in Hamilton. Lain Payton writes of a “trigger happy” Jonker who made a plethora of errors in a closely contested match.
Waratah flanker Rocky Elsom appeared to have held up Chiefs winger Sitiveni Sivivato after her ran 50 metres to score a match winning try. “I thought I held him up because the ball was stuck between my legs” Elsom said and TV replays seem to prove Elsom was correct.
But the criticism didn’t stop there as the usually quiet Phil Waugh (NSW captain) blamed Jonker for making some “baffling” decisions during the match. Waugh referred back to the Reds vs. Highlanders match the previous week where Jonker awarded two tries under dubious circumstances and said that they expected a bit better from him. What is SARU going to do? Are they going to suspend Jonker like they did with Deon van Blommestein and Louis Mzomba or are there different rules for different folks?
If that was not enough drama for SARU you should have watched the Wildebeest vs the Pumas on Saturday at Kings Park. It was a match in the Vodacom Cup and featured a referee by the name of Mlungiseli Mdashe. If ever there was a referee that wanted to forget his debut on TV then this was he. Here was a referee that made a mockery of the new laws and had you in fits of laughter trying to work out what he blew his whistle for.
It’s hard to believe that Mdashe got to referee at this level with a performance like the one on Saturday. At one stage Henno Mentz collected a ball in the Wildebeest in-goal area that was kicked into touch close to the corner post. Mentz ran to the touch-in-goal line and threw the ball to himself inside his own in-goal area. The referee called play on! How ridiculous. You cannot have a line out/quick throw in the in-goal area.
To make matters worse he yellow carded Corne Steenkamp for an apparent shoulder charge in the first half. On the TV replay it was clear that the Puma skipper did no such thing and did not make contact with any opposition at any time. It was a disgrace. Clearly Mdashe showed a lack of understanding for the game and in dire need of some intense coaching. The players deserve better and so does the paying public.
rugbyredcard.com firmly believes SARU must surely start looking at what is happening with its referees and at its structures . This past week saw Andre Watson launch a recruitment campaign to get more people to referee. I would suggest that SARU change and replace an already inefficient office that is in charge of refereeing matters and take control with an independent or unaffiliated group of individuals that has rugby at heart.
How can you go out and try and recruit new referees when the people that got us into this position remain in charge? Why give a man like Watson autonomy on referees when he clearly favors individuals because they are nice guys and happily sacrifices merit on the altar of expedience. We are being chastised overseas for our appointments but nothing seems to be being done about it.
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