IRB elite refereeing Panel.

Links to the new refereeing Panel.

Welsh Rugby Union http://www.wru.co.uk/eng/news/21713.php

New Zealand Herlad http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/news/article.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=10794342

IRB http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/mediazone/pressrelease/newsid=2061606.html#irb+unveils+referee+selection+restructure

O'Brien will move into a similar role for rugby sevens in a switch billed by the IRB as underlining its commitment to sevens ahead of rugby making its return to the Olympic Games at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

New Zealander Bryce Lawrence has also been dumped from the elite referee panel, which only includes one New Zealander now in Chris Pollock, although Steve Walsh is in there now as the sole Australian representive


It seems to be so mate, I guess the pen is mightier than the sword.

Well it took me 735 letters before the IRB responded back, the 80 minutes of video evidence of the QF and tedious amount of work where I had to interpret every breakdown to prove my point seems it was at last worth it.

Just shows perseverence does pay off.

Fact or fiction.

You decide.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10794342&ref=rss

Well I suppose its only fair that if they dropped Lawrence they had to drop Barnes.

With Paddy now being in charge of the sevens referees,his son will probably ref the Olympic final.

On the other thread Biltong has admitted that it was all his doing.

Doubt it, if NZ makes the final, he won't be there.

He lives on the Gold Coast now and I think he sails under the Aussie flag.

The plot thickens.

Like I said on the other thread, the pen is mightier than the sword.

But I am now told Bruce Lawrence lives on the gold coast, so he might be an aussie now.

The plot is thickening.

OZ win, SA loses, Bryce gets referee of the year award, he gets dropped from the elite panle, moves to Oz

I have merged the two threads as they are both the same content.

If its true Greyghost will have to come out of retirement to take up the post

I won't shed a tear if Bryce Lawrence is dropped. I've never rated him as a ref and my heart always sunk a little when I saw him in charge of England games.

And the Lions....

Good call by the IRB

Kind of on a ref theme lol Can anyone tell me what the tattoo on Walshes forearm says? During te entire world cup it was hidden by tape but was visable again when her reffed the SXV?

It says "Advance Australia Fair"

maestegmafia wrote:It says "Advance Australia Fair"

Hahaha is that right? He seems to have turned into a good Aussie after NZ treated him so bady.

Thank you Maes, diolch

maestegmafia wrote:It says "Advance Australia Fair"

I thought it said once an all black always an all black.

greengrass wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:It says "Advance Australia Fair"

Hahaha is that right? He seems to have turned into a good Aussie after NZ treated him so bady.

Thank you Maes, diolch

he has the ozzie coat of arms too, but a kiwi supplemented for an emu.

It's actually a quote (can't remember what exactly) relevant to his fight to stay off the bottle.

Kiwireddevil wrote:It's actually a quote (can't remember what exactly) relevant to his fight to stay off the bottle.

Is it "We Believe".






http://www.bestadsontv.com/ad/37957/Steinlager-We-Believe

Im pretty sure its "He who controls himself, controls the game".

To be honest, I don't think Barnes is the worst out there.

Rolland and Clancy were awful for the 6Ns

Barnes tends to be fairly even and consistent.

I'd be amazed if Barnes is dumped, he's one of the few who have actually shown consistency if nothing else. I thought he'd been better than most recently, despite hating hearing his name in a Wales match 2 years ago.

Not to rock the boat or anything but I think that 1/4 final was what gave Bryce the trophy, he was top under saffa pressure!

Ah, Bryce Lawrence, at last your criminal refereeing in the Lions Tour 2009 and inability to comprehend even the tiniest aspect of any set piece are avenged...

Clancy and Rolland are good refs but ridiculously pedantic to the severe detriment of the game as a spectacle.

ChequeredJersey wrote:Ah, Bryce Lawrence, at last your criminal refereeing in the Lions Tour 2009 and inability to comprehend even the tiniest aspect of any set piece are avenged...

Bit late now mate, have you seen the carnage he left behind?

In fact I'll swop you a Lions series for a semi final against the All Blacks any day of the week and twice on matchdays

glad to see barnes go.. sure a lot of irish will agree , especially ferris

Pearson is the most deserving after his various bloopers as both assistant and main ref in the Ireland/Wales and France/Ireland matchups

Barnes reffing of the Welsh/Ireland game went against him.

Rolland remains one of the elite and rightly so because of his calls.

Kunu you forgot to mention the Kiwis too. You could probably say they agree and that it was five years too late.

Biltong mate I'm sure you'd rather swap it for a final not the semi-think we were so pumped up we would've beaten anyone in that semi. As we saw the next game was quite different!

How ironic that 2 English referees were instrumental in influencing the Ireland v Wales game in favour of Wales.

Pearson for incorrectly recommending a yellow for Bradley Davies for a tip tackle which should have been a red - he was later cited & suspended for 7 weeks.

Barnes for the penalty decision & yellow card on Ferris for a 'tip tackle' that never was that decided the game.

They deserved to be dropped from the Elite international panel.

disneychilly wrote:Kunu you forgot to mention the Kiwis too. You could probably say they agree and that it was five years too late.

Biltong mate I'm sure you'd rather swap it for a final not the semi-think we were so pumped up we would've beaten anyone in that semi. As we saw the next game was quite different!

That's why I would swop it for the semi

In general I don't mind Barnes as a ref, it's just that he tends to drop 1 or 2 absolute clangers in the big games which help decide the result. Thought Pearson was okay a couple of years ago but he has certainly gone backwards in the past 18 months.

Not sorry to see Paddy put out to pasture. Anyone know who will be his replacement?

Escuse the iggorance but what does being demoted from the top tier of ref's mean - they can't ref internationals or what? If so, Pearson and Lawrence no loss, but have to say Barnes has his faults (the Ferris peno) but don't thinbk he's a bad ref.

Well it's hard to argue against the Ferris pen, by the letter of the law it was a yellow, just as Tipurics was yellow, warbs red etc etc...

thebluesmancometh wrote:Well it's hard to argue against the Ferris pen, by the letter of the law it was a yellow, just as Tipurics was yellow, warbs red etc etc...

Only one of those was actually deserving of a penalty/card.

Barnes knows the Laws but he has no empathy with the game. He constantly gets conned by the wily pros who end up controlling the game.

Surprised Kaplan doesn't get a mention as he doesn't even know the Laws.

To me, Joubert and Owens are the best referee´s around.

Roland is the one that has what it takes to make the big calles but is far to inconsistent and controversial.

As for Pollock, i have only seen him ref one game but i was very impressed with it.

Clancy, Pearon and Walsh are far to involved with thmeselves to be regarded as good ref´s.

The IRB, who have made a commitment to ensuring that the best referees are selected on form to officiate in the biggest matches in the run up to Rugby World Cup 2015, has announced a restructured and more streamlined selection process overseen by a vastly experienced committee.

The new four-man committee, which former Welsh international Clayton Thomas along with Lyndon Bray, Tappe Henning and Donal Courtney, will now meet four times a year and make selections for the next international window with all performances reviewed as part of the next round of international selections.

Following the review of performances during the recent RBS 6 Nations, the selection committee has chosen nine elite referees to take charge of the top matches in a busy June international window. The referees are:
George Clancy (Ireland), Jérôme Garcès (France), Craig Joubert (South Africa), Nigel Owens (Wales), Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Romain Poite (France), Alain Rolland (Ireland) and Steve Walsh (Australia).

Rolland has been given his first game involving Wales since he controversially sent-off Sam Warburton in the Rugby World Cup semi-final against France in Auckland. He will take charge of the game against the Barbarians at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, 2 June.

Meanwhile, Grand Slam referee Craig Joubert will be the man in the middle in the first and third Tests in Australia when Wales meet the Wallabies in Brisbane (9 June) and Sydney (23 June). The second Test in Melbourne will be controlled by New Zealand's Chris Pollock.

Owens has been given the first and second Tests between world champions New Zealand and Ireland in Auckland (9 June) and Christchurch (16 June). He will also be the No1 assistant for South Africa v England in Port Elizabeth on 23 June.

http://www.wru.co.uk/eng/news/21713.php

Is there a point to this article?

Yes it's rugby related... If you don't agree that it should be on the forum all you need to do is complain to the mods.
I just don't understand why you think it's pointless.

The only thing I can see is a Welshman complaining about Rolland again. Why can't you just move forward?

Surprised that Poite has not been elevated to the elite panel; ahead of Walsh imo. Barnes being dropped is also surprising

I went to a talk he gave at a local club two years ago, and the guy loves the game and wants the players to enjoy themselves. He certainly doesn't lack empathy for the game, and is one of the better communicators.

Clancy went backwards in the 6N and missed a lot of stuff.

I guess refereeing these days is down to 'compliance' and ticking the right IRB boxes, rather than to sensibly control 30 blokes on a rugby field.

Rava quit trolling please you know full well I'm not a wum.

This was posted because I thought people would be interested in it.

What do you mean "quit trolling"? I am making an observation on the article. If you aren't happy with that then fine. I'm entitled to my opinion.

Of course you can have a opinion but you suggested that I posted this because I'm not happy with Rolland and unable to move on.
Once again I did not give it a second thought,
I simply posted this on here because I thought it would be of interest.

Fair enough Cymro. I hope thats the case and your country men/women can do just that.

Rugby Dreamers recent quote suggest otherwise

rugbydreamer wrote:referees for the Wales game in the summer.

V BaaBaa's - Allain Rolland
1st and 3rd Test v Australia - Joubert (hooray!)
2nd Test - Pollock.

Happy with the ones we've got out in Australia

And what did she say that was out of order?

When you see a smiley face it tends to mean they are joking.

No mate she wasn't joking. I can assure you of that. I know RD. she isn't Mr Rolland's biggest fan.

Neither am I personally I think he panics and tries to dig himself out of a hole.
But I don't hold a grudge against him or any other official.