November Society Meeting – Follow Up
I want to take a little time to report what was discussed at the general meeting on Monday,
mainly to inform those of you who were unable to attend, but also to allow those who did a
little more time to think about what took place and contribute, especially if we didn’t find
time to go into much detail on the night.
I want to thank everyone who came along, those who sent me their ideas via email, but in
particular Wayne for giving us a real insight into his involvement in RWC 2015. It was great.
It is so important that we celebrate the successes and fantastic opportunities that come to us
by being involved in officiating in Rugby Union. Good luck to Wayne in his first European
Challenge Cup appointment this weekend in Montpellier, who take on Calvisano.
The other items discussed were:
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IRB directive 7 2015, reinforcing that it is never acceptable for a player to kick the
ball out of an opponents hand and the sanction is a penalty against the offending team
at the place of infringement.
Age grade rugby match times. How long does a game last at each each age grade. The
attached PDF explains the timings. Games should not extend beyond these timings
with the exception of injury time. It is ok to stop the watch for injuries in age grade
rugby, but apply common sense to this. This issue was raised as a result of a cup game
being played, where the first half lasted 35 minutes, but the second half was reduced
to 18 mins, because the referee did not stop their watch during an extended break for
treatment of injury.
Age grade rugby. When is a game stopped due to imbalance of scoreline. Age 7 to
under 12, when the try difference reaches 6. 13 to u18 matches, when the points
difference reaches 50 points unless both teams agree to continue. Lee Weatherley, the
chair of youth made us aware that coaches are asking that after a 30 points difference,
they might seek an end to the game, which may then continue in a different player
format, so be aware and we’ll find out the decision on this recommendation in due
time.
Duty of Care. What is it and how does it apply to refereeing, particularly in Age
Grade Rugby. A document on Duty of Care had been circulated, with short notice,
prior to the meeting. Some members had been able to read it. In brief, it details 2
clear, historic situations, at the Court of Appeal when referees were found neglectful
of their duty of care in incidents where players received ‘catastrophic’ life changing
injuries. Both of these situations occurred during scrums and the agreement in the
room was: If you follow protocols in briefing, setting scrums and an awareness of
both individual and team strengths and weaknesses in real time, then you will fulfil
your duty of care responsibilities. It is important, especially in Age Grade Games to
communicate effectively with players and coaches about your expectations and any
concerns of player safety. If you haven’t already read the document, I’ll attach the
link again. Any thoughts or questions, please get in touch.
Red Card Form Submission. From last week’s Exec meeting, we were asked to
outline the submission of forms following a player receiving a red card. The red card
form and others, including travelling expenses can be found on the referee section of
the NRU website. Link below. A copy of the completed form should be submitted to
Malcolm and Claire before 9am on the Monday, or within 48 hours, if the match does
not take place on a Saturday. It’s recommended that a phone call to Malcolm, or Alan
asap would help the process. Here are the e mails
[email protected], [email protected] If you need any advice or support
with any documentation, ring a senior member, who will help out. The other thing
with red card forms is, stick to fact. Again, if you are unsure of how to write a report,
please get in touch. I’ll speak to Alan Beecroft and ask if it can be included, at some
point, in the junior referee’s session. Next one on 7th December 7.00pm at Novos.
Just to repeat myself, if you’d like any referee related topic to be included in our meetings,
I’ll try to make it happen.
Our next meeting will include our Christmas social and quiz. It should take place on the third
Monday which is the 21st December, so I propose that it is moved forward 1 week to the
14th, for obvious reasons.
Links
Jaco Peper ball kicked out of opponents hand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mONaLz6Ry4&feature=youtu.be
NRURS Forms
http://northumberlandrugbyunion.com/coaching-and-refereeing/referees/information-andforms-for-referees
Duty of care document for interest
http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1329&context=sportslaw
Age Grade playing times