Pressure referees more: Honiss

Anyone concerned about this kind of comment from a Ref?

http://www.rugbyheaven.smh.com.au/ff...umb__90x90.jpg.....Pressure referees more: Honiss


Tuesday, July 24, 2007


Leading New Zealand rugby whistler Paul Honiss says the All Blacks should chat more to referees, believing it would boost their chance of winning tight Tests.

Honiss encouraged senior All Blacks players to follow the lead of veteran Wallabies halfback George Gregan, who has a reputation for persistently getting in the ear of referees.

While New Zealand captain Richie McCaw is well served keeping cordial relations, Honiss said others should become more vocal as it had the potential to sway the rulings of inexperienced referees.

"It's all about the timing of the communication and whether it's sewing seeds with the referee," Honiss told New Zealand's Radio Sport.

"If they win the odd battle here or there, it could result in tries being scored and a Test match being swayed one way or the other."

Honiss has refereed more Tests than any other New Zealander although because of the neutrality rule, none of them have involved the All Blacks.

However, it was apparent to him that they could apply a little more "acid" to referees.

"I think we should be a little bit more cunning and leave Richie to captain the side the way he does," Honiss said.

"There's no two ways about it, he's a very intelligent player and a very intelligent captain.

"But maybe we should have a (halfback) Byron Kelleher or somebody else in the team putting a little acid on from time to time. [EDIT: I already thought Bygone did that anyway?]

"It's fair to say a guy like Andrew Mehrtens filled that role quite successfully and maybe it's time for someone else -- an Aaron Mauger or somebody who's experienced -- to pick his moments to have a cheeky crack at a referee."

Honiss said John Eales was the best captain he had ever officiated because the former Australian skipper chose his moments to query a decision.

Gregan, who has been usurped as Wallabies leader by Stirling Mortlock, took the opposite approach his on-field relations.

"Whenever John Eales asked a question I used to prick my ears up," Honiss said.

"I think Richie's in that mould, I think he's a very intelligent captain and I don't think he should get involved in the gamesmanship that George does from time to time.

"With George, he probably did that far too often and as a result he became less effective as a captain maybe."

While Honiss encouraged more All Blacks chit-chat, he cautioned that it not be overdone as some officials didn't take kindly to players who overstepped the mark.


NZPA

Keep your mouth shut Honiss and concentrate on referring.

There should only be one member from each team permitted to question the referee's decision......the captain. Any other question or chat should be penalised. End of story. Otherwise we'll end up like football (soccer).

that is quite concerning coming from the ref

can new zealand refs officiate nz games? or is it like cricket?

Neutral referees only now!

Shut up Honiss, you ginger tosser!!

"To pick his moments to have a cheeky crack at a referee" - is he serious? Yeah because i can just imagine ref's responding to smart arses really well...

Of course players will argue decisions they don't agree with, but I highly doubt that many of them do it with the expectation that the ref will turn around and go 'oh alright let me change my decision because you said so'. I'd like to think that most ref's wouldn't allow themselves to be walked over so easily and players know that. However, questioning a ref's decision will generally make them think twice the next time it happens which i think is a good thing. But this will only happen if the ref respects the player. Players who throw away cheeky remarks will never earn this respect.

Ref's make mistakes, everyone knows that, and sometimes you need the players to point this out. It keeps them in check and also reminds them that they're not god (despite having the whistle). I've never seen George overstep the mark and I think its pretty rich to say that he is a less effective captain because of his tendency to query refs...i'd argue the opposite in that ref's will listen to him because of his experience and because he rarely questions something without damn good grounds.

And i'm with you felix...who the hell comes out and says this as a ref??

Message to Sharpie:

Get a copy of the article and put in your pocket for next time Honnis refs one of our games. At first penalty pull it out of your pocket and say...Paul, can we discuss this?

I'm still finding this story pretty disturbing.
To me it should definitely have drawn a rebuke from Paddy O'Brien...oh hang on, he's a Kiwi too...fair enough :S

Honiss cops yellow card from IRB
By MARC HINTON - RugbyHeaven | Wednesday, 1 August 2007

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4148886a10295.htm

New Zealand's top rugby referee Paul Honiss has been handed the equivalent of a yellow card by the game's international governing body for media comments he made recently that contravene official policy.

Honiss was dished out an official reprimand by the International Rugby Board who were clearly not happy with comments he made on New Zealand radio suggesting players needed to question referees more.

Honiss, who is on the IRB's 12-man test referee panel, has raised the ire of the game's rulers for saying he thought players should be encouraged to talk more to referees and to question decisions. A strongly worded media release from Dublin confirmed this was "clearly against IRB policy".

"Last November the IRB announced that match officials would enforce a zero-tolerance policy when it came to players disputing decisions on the field," said the IRB's chief executive Mike Miller via a statement.

"This followed a meeting of the IRB test referee panel and national union referee managers and reflected a desire to curb the growing trend of players continually questioning and disputing referee decisions," he added.

"The message from the IRB has not changed. Back-chat and arguing with a match official will not be tolerated, nor will any attempt to influence a referee or slow down the match through questioning the referee.

"Players who overstep the mark will be penalised accordingly and the IRB has reiterated this policy to the referee panel."

But this appeared to be more than a slap over the wrist with a wet bus ticket for the man voted New Zealand's top whistle-blower the last two years.

In fact if the tone of comments from Miller are anything to go by, Honiss may find himself on the outer at the upcoming World Cup. Certainly he appears to have plenty of ground to make up.

Added Miller: "Paul Honiss' comments encouraging players to verbally engage the referee more were out of line. He has been reprimanded by the IRB Referee Manager and he has been told that such actions will not be tolerated.

"He has been reminded about his responsibilities as a test match referee and he has accepted that his actions were contrary to IRB policy."

Even Honiss' fellow Kiwi and the IRB's Referee Manager Paddy OBrien added his admonishment.

"The referee's decision is final on the field of play. Nowhere in the game's laws does it say that players can question the referee or try to influence his decision-making. We allow captains to talk to the referee but only at appropriate moments and it is not a given right."

O'Brien said referees would be reminded of these responsibilities at a meeting prior to the World Cup.

But there has been one further upshot. The IRB has decided to discontinue the practice of coaches meeting with referees prior to test matches – a code that will be in place for the World Cup.

"The intention is to remove unnecessary external influences on match officials and allow them to referee what they see in front of them without any preconceived ideas," added O'Brien.

Excellent :)

Shut your cakehole, ginger!