Referees

Every current ref in the Prem spent time in the 'Champ proving ground' (sorry, I lapsed into corporate jargon there) before moving up to the top tier. Quite a large proportion of Champ supporters have pretty -ve views on refs, including some who'll swear that a particular ref has 'got it in for' their club, which is a pity, as I think the standard is decent, and expectations that they shouldn't make mistakes are unrealistic...

Surely the crowd assist with forward passes don’t they? Particularly when they’re standing on one 22 and the play is down the other end 😀

cheshire exile wrote: The biggest issue for me is that ref’s assistants often seem reluctant to get involved, which puts more onus on the man in the middle. Given the interminable time some TMO reviews seem to take, I think we’re better off without them.

I remember having a discussion about this with one of our coaches a while ago. He said that refs pretty much tell ARs how much input they want. May be different now, I don't know. They are now, after all, Assistant Referees, not touch judges - so you'd think that refs would want them to assist as much as possible!
I think the standard is pretty good. These guys are human and will have on and off days and will make mistakes.
In my opinion the best ref we've had at The Mennaye over the past few seasons is Sarah Cox.

Thnaks for the information  I remember when we were in the championship before that as with the prem there are good and not so good days, that is with  any sport. Quite happy not to have TMO, but wish for a greater input form the assistant referees. If nothing esle can they deal with one of my pet hates, the hooker throwing in from inside the field of play, that  surely should be an easy one ?