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Right then:
In Week 1 of the RWC it was clear that the refs were instructed to get the pillars/posts back onside, thus creating a better running opportunity for the receiver of the scrum-half's pass. This was a good thing.
In subsequent weeks it seems they were told what a great job they'd done and to focus on something else. Not sure what else they've been focussing on, but the offsides for pillars/posts have returned. In a big way.
It also seems that Kelvin Deaker's little insight on previous RWCs still holds and that the ref's have an expectation that the minnow shall lose to the giant, so why not penalise them for everything just to make sure, while failing to penalise the giant for the exact same thing in the same game.
Moreover(I've always wanted to use that in a sentence!):
"The Gate" only applies to the defending team; arriving players from the ball-carrying team can arrive from pretty much anywhere;
The tackler is not required to release the tackled player in this tournament - whether he is a tackler or whether he is a "tackle assist". With the exception of games that Barnesy or Junior control;
None of the refs seems to have given instructions to the Assistant Referees to assist with things they might see that the ref did not. Either that or the comms equipment is faulty.
That'll do for now. I feel better with that off my chest. Thank you very much for reading.
Carry on.