Bad refereeing and comparing

What I had planned to write today was my impressions of the Super-14 semi-finals (both exciting matches, even if the decision in both wasn't really in doubt for that long) and the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup finals. We'd be comparing, more or less, like with like after all.

The trouble is, we're not comparing like with like. The Super-14 semis were both great games. There were errors, attacks, entertainment, tries, penalties and the works. The H-cup final was tense, a try each way (the Toulouse try was probably the best of the weekend) but not hugely exciting for the neutral observer, well not this one anyway.

Close games can be good - Gloucester v Bath (8-6 final score) was a good game because the teams tried, there were sweeping attacks and stout defence throughout. The 16-13 win by Munster didn't have that - it was error-ridden and unattractive. There was also a shocking decision to yellow card Pelous, and although I'm not 100% sure there was bias by the refereeing team in general (I have a lot of time for Nigel Owens normally) I would say that Munster got enough of the rub of the green on other occasions too that I can understand Guy Noves thinking there might have been bias.

The Challenge Cup final was worse. It started looking like there was going to be an attacking, fun game. In moments there were. But oh boy, Christophe Berdos had a shocker. Grewcock should have been sin-binned twice (which would have left Bath down to 14 players for 25 minutes or so). Mears should have been sin-binned. Another Bath player should have been sin-binned. Klaarsens kicked the ball from a mark into his own player in front. Offside? No - take the kick again. WHY? Whether or not it was deliberate, the referee failed to stamp his authority and the game was full of niggle and unpleasantness, and it's hard to think that Worcester wouldn't have managed to do something more if they'd played against 14 men for more than half the match, in fact 13-men for a few minutes.

The IRB and the various competitions need to do something. If the referee has such a shocker, there needs to be some come-back. Saying, as they did, Barnes, Spreadbury and Kaplan can't referee further in the RWC didn't help New Zealand who had been knocked out several shocking decisions. It won't help Worcester if Berdos has his wrist slapped for a bad game. Referees need to be respected and left to run the game. But when a referee has a bad game, there has to be something else done - perhaps particularly when it's so clearly a big game, like a knock-out match or a cup final.