Joe Mac
Arch Winning (36)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/5079966/Not-such-a-clever-Dick-with-the-whistle
Not such a clever Dick with the whistle
MARC HINTON
OPINION: I want to be outraged by the Highlanders’ green jersey. But I’m just not. Stuart Dickinson, though, is another matter. Now that’s something to get angry about.
After the shockingly inept performance by the Aussie whistle-blower in Sunday’s 17-16 defeat for the Crusaders against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane, he has again found himself at the centre of controversy.
Rugby at this level shouldn’t be about the refs. Occasionally they have big calls to make and can influence the outcome of games with their decisions at the end of tight contests - fair enough. But they shouldn’t stamp their mark all over matches the way Dickinson did on Sunday in front of a full house. And they most certainly shouldn’t get it as badly wrong as the officious Aussie did, ruining a splendid game of rugby between two of the elite teams in this competition.
Dickinson is no stranger to controversy around New Zealand rugby and over the years our teams have discovered just how costly it can be to fall on the wrong side of his judgment line. He’s also none too popular in South Africa for similar reasons.
He very nearly single-handedly ended the career of outstanding Crusaders prop Wyatt Crockett in Italy a couple of years ago when he penalised him off the park at scrum time in a test match at the San Siro. Later, IRB referees boss Paddy O’Brien was forced to make a public apology to the All Blacks over Dickinson’s performance, confessing in a moment of refreshing transparency that the Australian had got it badly wrong.
He also seems to find a lot more fault with Richie McCaw than other referees do. It’s almost as if he goes out of his way to catch the classy openside with his hand in the cookie jar, at the expense of keeping an even-handed eye over both sides.
On Sunday Dickinson was so bad it almost defied belief. To be fair he wasn’t helped by his so-called assistants, but his calls all seemed to go against one team. At a rough count he missed two obvious Reds knock-ons and two forward passes at vital times. He also whistled up a 12-4 penalty count against the Crusaders that was marginal at best and, of course, made the big call at the end to award a dubious match-winning penalty to the Reds when Richie McCaw and Ben Franks clearly counter-rucked over the ball.
Sour grapes? Not at all.
Ad Feedback All I want to see in rugby is a fair contest and unfortunately we didn’t get that at Suncorp on Sunday. That was a shame, for the match was still a ripper. Such ineptitude should have repercussions. I see he does not have a whistle gig this weekend. Nor should he the one after. And the one after that.
The Rugby World Cup, thankfully, has already made the call that he’s not up to that level. But Dickinson’s rough justice comes at a price. It could cost the Crusaders and New Zealand rugby hundreds of thousands of dollars. And maybe even a title. It is on these games that home playoff matches and the like swing. Championship outcomes can be heavily influenced.
The Crusaders have had it tough enough this year, what with the devastating repercussions of the earthquake, and now they face a man-made force of nature that’s also conspiring against them. You have to feel for this perennially classy outfit.
They didn’t get the fair go they deserved on Sunday, and now their road home has been steepened significantly. Todd Blackadder has repeatedly talked about the lessons being heeded of the previous two seasons when key round-robin slip-ups forced them to make tortuous semifinal visits to South Africa to take on the Bulls in their backyard. I have it on good authority that the genial Crusaders coach took Sunday’s defeat particularly hard, especially the influence wielded by the referee. He knows what it now means.
The Crusaders can still save their season if they’re good enough. But they’ve lost an element of control of their destiny. I saw enough on Sunday to tell me the Crusaders can still win this thing. They won’t fear a repeat visit to Brisbane, and in fact would probably look forward to it.
They desperately need one of their two quality halfbacks and if Sean Maitland can make the “miracle” recovery that’s being talked about, that would also be a bonus. They also need Sonny Bill Williams and Robbie Fruean to rediscover their mojo. It’s gone missing of late.
Lastly, that much squawked about Highlanders jersey.
My initial reaction was to jump up and down at the mere thought of turning it green. Sacrilege! But then the more I thought about it the more I concluded: why not? Blue and gold are Otago's colours. Maroon is Southland’s. Why not green the Highlanders?
The move these days is to distance the franchise from the feeder provinces, and this certainly achieves that. Otago folk seem upset about it (more so than Southlanders, it should be noted), but then I agree with a colleague’s thoughts that if those same folk actually turned up to games maybe their protests would be more relevant.
Besides, it’s not the colour of the jersey that’s important, it’s what the blokes wearing them do that really matters. Having said that, can anyone see the Crusaders going purple, or the Blues pink? More chance of Stuie D saying “Sorry, Todd.”
