2015 S15 Refs panel

[Quick Hands]

For the finals, I'd like to see the best refs this season get the reffing and AR gigs. Maybe this is the case, but if so SANZAR and I disagree on who are the best refs.

This week they've gone with refs from the host country in each case. If they do that next week then Angus Gardner is probably the favourite but I suspect that next week it will be Joubers and Pollock, with Joubers getting the final. Not a bad outcome all round.

I agree with the concept that the best available referee should do the games. Even with a pair of green and gold glasses on I couldn't recommend any Australian ref for a spot. (One of the few occasions I'm in agreement with the IRB Refs panel - our blokes just aren't up to it).

Pollock is the best Kiwi ref by a mile - although Jackson seems flavour of the month, so I've just got my fingers crossed that the Waratahs don't get him next week (especially if we play the Stormers).

Joubert is one of the best around IMO (I believe that the RWC final ref will either be him, Barnes or Poite) and I'd prefer him next week to the brand of incompetence that Jackson brings to a rugby field.

Back to the original point - a sensible administration would have Pollock in Capetown and Peyper in Dunedin. Surely the airfares and accomodation for two people aren't that prohibitive in a mulit-million dollar professional sport.

 

[kiap]

a sensible administration would have Pollock in Capetown and Peyper in Dunedin. Surely the airfares and accomodation for two people aren't that prohibitive in a mulit-million dollar professional sport.

Yeah. I won't go into the other question in this post (and don't necessarily agree with you) but on the airfares and accommodation thing ... any attempted argument based on cost-saving doesn't hold water.

• Eleven days ago Lynton Bray had Saffa Peyper in New Zealand for an NZ derby.

• Ten days ago Lynton Bray had Kiwi Jackson in South Africa for an AU away match.

• Ten days ago Lynton Bray had Kiwi Fraser in Australia for an NZ away match.

These matches were not finals.

And for those who haven't looked into the studies of non-neutral referees, it is well established—across many sports in peer-reviewed studies— that non-neutral refs have a meausurable and statistically significant effect on results.

 

[Eyes and Ears]

Lyndon Bray not Lynton Bray.

 

[kiap]

Lyndon Bray not Lynton Bray.

Quite right; stray 't' - one for the pot.