Page 114 - Lansdowne Yearbook 2020-21 Master Digital Edition

THE JOYS OF

REFEREEING utterly hopeless, Springer arrived out
of the dressing room and rescued me.
Despite this, a couple of years later when
Paul Clinch I finished coaching, I was tempted back
into it.
The Joys of Refereeing
or How to Make Friends and Influence I have found refereeing to be both an
People enjoyable and taxing duty. I use the
word “duty” deliberately, as the referee
My initial refereeing introduction to can often be the single biggest influence
refereeing was a traumatic experience. on the enjoyment of a game of rugby.
Lansdowne were playing Old Belvedere It is a duty that requires concentration
in a floodlit cup match and Donal Spring throughout the entire 80 minutes, as
and I were coaching. The match was a single significant mistake will be
being refereed by a very nice English remembered long after any positive
ref – Chris Lucky, or to be more precise, aspects one may have brought to the
Bruce Deans the Kiwi Belvo scrumhalf game.
was advising him what decisions he
should make! Chris went down with an So “WHY?” is often the question I am
injury at about half time, and Springer asked when people hear that I am a
suggested I should ref. One of my first referee. I suppose there are several
decisions was to penalise a Lansdowne reasons.
player for not rolling away after he had
placed the ball post-tackle. (He shall I had finished as coach of Lansdowne
remain nameless but is the incoming FC in December 1997. I felt I needed a
president of Lansdowne!). So about 40 break from the game. However, I was
minutes later, in the corridor of the Old acutely aware of how quickly one loses
Belvedere changing rooms I felt a long touch with developments in the game
ginger shadow over me, and I heard the (and the advent of professionalism had
words “That was never a f***ing penalty!”. accelerated the speed of change), and I
“How on earth do I get out of this?”, I felt that I should move quickly if I was to
thought as I stood against the wall and return to the game in any way.
he glowered at me!! So, I explained
my reasoning which was that he was Refereeing appealed to me for several
obliged to roll away or to get up after reasons (a thick neck and megalomania
he was tackled but that wasn’t going to are two that some of my peers might
satisfy him. Just as the situation looked suggest!).

114 YEARBOOK 2020-2021