Mr G. Clancy

Dear all,

Just curious (and not trying to make any points about historical results), has anyone ever felt that this gentleman has produced a really solid refereeing performance? Or like me, when you see a match to be officiated by the aforementioned, do you simply hold your head in your hands knowing that the fixture will be diminished in some way?

DOI - Edinburgh, London Scottish and Scotland

takethelongroad

I certainly don't recall Clancy being the ref in too many high-scoring, free-flowing epics. I don't think he was too bad in the CC match in terms of mistakes or partisan decisions, I just get the impression that he allows quite a lot of disruption by the defending team at the breakdown, so you get a bit of a slow and stodgy game.

It does rather raise a question about the Laws and how they are reffed and played to (at the professional level), that different referees interpretations of what is and is not allowed can have a big influence on the tactics of the game. I guess to an extent it was ever thus, although at least in the past it was only limited to a ref's incompetence at understanding what happens in a scrum (yes, I am talking to you Andre Watson) and perhaps the maul rather than at every breakdown.

He didnt drop the scoring passes on last Saturday.

I didnt think he was a problem as such. He wasnt the talking point post game which is as much as you can usually hope for these days.

There didn't seem to be any disputed calls apart from possibly the disallowed Scottish try which wasnt down to him anyways. (and only the most one eyed scots supporters seem to believe was a try in the first place.)

I certainly don't believe there are any partisan decisions being made. It does seem that since I first saw a match Clancy oversaw (Magners some time ago) it stuck out that something was lacking. Whether that is an ability to communicate with players or an inability to remain consistent in decision making in different areas of the field, I am not certain.

One thing that really puzzles me though is why the IRB seem to hold the opposite view....

There are a number of Refs who people see the name come up and just shudder. To be honest Clancy isn't one of those I see and think 'well that's it we've lost'.

He's no Bryce Lawrence, I'll give him that

Scarlets
I know what you mean - as an England fan I always dread us getting Rolland, especially against France (and since we seem to get him for that one every year, it's amazing we haven't got a much worse record against them).

I don't think Rolland is a bad ref, but something about how he refs the games just stuffs our game plan up (at least in the MJ era).

lostinwales

Thanks for the contribution.

The question I was asking though was specifically to find out opinions about any games he had refereed well. I tried to clarify that this topic is not about recent results as that is a sure-fire way to send the topic of the discussion off course and is also covered elsewhere on these boards.

Rolland is easily the best ref in the world...................

Apologies takethelongroad it was just the first thing in my mind when I saw the post.

As has been said hes no Bryce Lawrence - a name which really does make me shudder.

There seems to be lots of swings and roundabouts in this area. Take Barnes for instance - his communication with the players seems to be excellent - and the games he refs can look good. But then he does seem to have problems controlling games if things start boiling over and there are the odd 'contentious' decisions....

I appear to in the minority here, but I do fear when we get him as a ref. He appears to be biased against Scottish teams. I'm not saying he's cost us results, as we do a grand job screwing things up for ourselves already, but he certainly doesn't help the situation.

Good point lostin

Interesting that different teams seem to have different 'bogey' referees. I see Steve Walsh is in for England vs. Wales.....

Clancy next up for Wales vs. Italy - already I sense a messy breakdown.

I think in the calcutta cup match his style of refereeing did not favour Scotland - he is more lenient at he breakdown than some and this worked against Scotland.

However he is a perfectly good ref. No major mistakes that I remember

Walsh was generally good reffing the RWC, and usually allows for quite a free-flowing game, so that is probably advantage to Wales (as that is more likely to suit their style of play than ours).

John Cregan
I assume your comment was at least a bit tongue in cheek. Fortunately, I'm not Welsh, so no come back from me. As I said, it's just that somehow when he's reffed England in recent seasons we've done a crap job of playing to his interpretations.

I don't mind him too much, would put him middle of the road. As an England I'm more worried about our ref for tomorrow, a certain Mr Jerome Garces of France. I've only seen him a few times but I've yet to see him have a good game and every time he's taken charge he just seems to completely confuse the payers of both teams with his strange decisions. I don't think he favours a particular team or style, he just seems equally inept when in charge. Hopefully he will have a perfect match on Saturday and I will be forced to eat my words.

Regarding Mr Rolland. He was never my favorite and the one game I remember seeing him in since the world cup he was terrible, Scarlets Vs Saints in Wales. He was just shocking, either not letting anyone challenge whatsoever at one breakdown and then completely ignoring any laws at the next. He also seemed to have an almighty chip on his shoulder as well and seemed plain angry when he did communicate with the players.

dummy_half wrote:Walsh was generally good reffing the RWC, and usually allows for quite a free-flowing game, so that is probably advantage to Wales (as that is more likely to suit their style of play than ours).

Really disliked him before the world cup, aside from his previous problems with us English I had always felt he was far too full of himself when referring and wasn't upset when he was booted out of his job. Was skeptical when he was reinstated to the top level but happy to admit he seemed much improved during the world cup, both in how he handled the games themselves and the players.

I've never watched Clancy referee a game and felt he was in charge. I don't think he favours one side or another but i just get the feeling that he is out of his depth. Having said that, I can't really remember any massive howlers from him.

Oh no B91212 are you kidding? Mr Jerome Garces is awful! The Ospreys vs Saracens at the Liberty is a perfect example.

Best ref is Nigel Owens in my opinion.

I personally don't mind Pearson and Barnes.

The problem in my opinion with Clancy - well certainly in the CC game was the stodginess. Whenever there was a knock on he wouldn't allow advantage. He just blew the whistle which didn't helped the flow of the game.

He didn't make any particularly controversial decisions which is good but he doesn't let the game flow as well as other refs.

Barnes is almost the opposite. He lets the game flow which generally needs to more excitement but more controversy too!

I personally like Barnes because I can't remember any incidents when he has been particularly biased against my team but he is no stranger to controversy. E.g. missing France's forward pass, the Tuilagi punch, the Quins vs Leicester game last season.

Did anyone see Clancy caught at the Ireland game on the w/end. He was in the crowd, replete with scarf.

Chjw131 wrote:Did anyone see Clancy caught at the Ireland game on the w/end. He was in the crowd, replete with scarf.

Yep, I saw that and laughed. Now that's how we do objectivity in Irish refereeing circles!

Having said that, I think Nigel Owens knows he's Welsh on his days off...and Wayne Barnes wouldn't be caught cheering on the Italians if he rolled up to England's next game.

Eclipse

- That's it I think. I have never had the sense that things were under control and working as they should.

beshocked wrote:Oh no B91212 are you kidding? Mr Jerome Garces is awful! The Ospreys vs Saracens at the Liberty is a perfect example.

Read it in the interview with Lancaster in the Telegraph. Every time I see him he just leaves the players completely bewildered with his decisions, I've no idea how is classed as good enough for the HC, let alone international duty.

Don't mind Roman Poite, and didn't mind Christophe Berdos either although I think some did have a problem with him. He seems to have fallen of the radar a little in recent seasons though. Had been critical of Owens in the past, although I do like that he is firm and clear in his dealings with the players and doesn't seem to allow himself to influenced by the payers. I did think he looked a little unfit during the world cup but he seems to be a bit trimmer again now. I think Pearson has gone down hill compared to previous years, at one stage he seemed to ref with more common sense than most but my guess is the IRB didn't like that and made him tow the line somewhat. Agree Barnes runs games well but tends to drop big clangers and either misses or bottles some of the contentious incidents.

Although he had a poor world cup final I still feel Craig Joubert is the best of the bunch.

SecretFly wrote:

Chjw131 wrote:Did anyone see Clancy caught at the Ireland game on the w/end. He was in the crowd, replete with scarf.

Yep, I saw that and laughed. Now that's how we do objectivity in Irish refereeing circles!

Having said that, I think Nigel Owens knows he's Welsh on his days off...and Wayne Barnes wouldn't be caught cheering on the Italians if he rolled up to England's next game.

I missed that. Although it's funny I have no problem with it. It's not like he takes charge of their games and proves it's not just a job for him.

dummy_half wrote:Walsh was generally good reffing the RWC, and usually allows for quite a free-flowing game, so that is probably advantage to Wales (as that is more likely to suit their style of play than ours).

John Cregan
I assume your comment was at least a bit tongue in cheek. Fortunately, I'm not Welsh, so no come back from me. As I said, it's just that somehow when he's reffed England in recent seasons we've done a crap job of playing to his interpretations.

Not tongue in cheek at all, I really think he is the best. Had he been refereeing the RWC Final, i think France would have been given a penalty to win it. Always in charge and not afraid to make the hard calls, even when they won't be popular................

Rugby is probably the hardest team sport to referee but, unlike football, i think the officials work better as a team.......................

I think it's called the Availability Principle. You notice things that go against your team more than things that go for your team. In the random fluctuations of mistakes from refs you're bound to get clusters against. Once these have been acknowledged you start looking for them. Every mistake against you reinforces the idea and any mistakes for you are discounted as "he's bound to get the odd one right".

I've watched plenty of games and had one idea of the refereeing performance and then read on here the complete opposite view from a fan of the opposite side.

BTW I can't stand Owen's as a ref. I find him quite weak and let's things go a lot, but then seems to randomly penalise people for things he's previously let go to stamp his authority. He also talk gibberish. "Move it or use it"?? Surely it should be "Move it or lose it". JP Doyle is quality. He told some players to Chillax in a game a while ago