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Cape Town - Sport24 readers have said that despite increased powers for the TMO, the standard of officiating in Super Rugby has reached an all-time low.
Inconsistent policing of the rolling maul, inconsistent rulings over what constitutes a forward pass, and a litany of embarrassing TMO failures - despite having access to a multitude of camera angles and replays - have been an unwelcome feature of Super Rugby in the past couple of weeks.
Criticism of refs from Super Rugby teams has reached an all-time high.
GALLERY - Super Rugby - Round 14
VIDEO: Controversial TMO decision
In an embarrassing irony for SANZAR, one of the worst weeks in terms of officiating followed the recent handing out of a fine of R230 000 for the Stormers for misconduct towards a match official.
Here's what Sport readers had to say:
"What is being done about the poor quality of referees? We always hear about players being penalised but nothing about the refs!" - Michele Loots
"Super 15 rugby in 2013 will be remembered for the year of the most awful officiating of games! The standard is at an all time low and Sanzar should seriously attend to this issue." - Colin de Beer
"Pathetic and hugely embarrassing! How can we have these clowns officiating a professional sport? A kick in the teeth for the players!" - Andrew Bradford
"The refs should work on a points system and they should rate the refs after every game." - Anton Heunis
"Why cant they check the game afterwards and judge the ref, so they can deal with them also, they were PATHETIC!" - Mogaamad Said Rhoda
"Sanzar is wasting their time, as professional as refs can be or expected to be , they will always have favourite teams end of story,to sort this out I think first of all they need to find Ways to make it more of a profession than weekend job /hobby, because most of them have other qualifications and professions so being a ref doesn't matter much." - Aviwe Mandisi Yedma
"Match fixing as much as it can be denied its happening in rugby maybe choosing an officiating panel to be on standby and only announcing the ref on match days could help and also maybe having neutral refs in all games would make a difference too." - AMY
"The refs are as bad as Bryce Lawrence this tourney. I think we are in a situation were they are becoming spiteful to other nations. If they can be so bad, so can we." - Ronald Rose
"It is time that match officials be made accountable for consistent bad performance. Jaco Peyper is a prime example. So is Willy Munroe. Every week, same ridiculous calls. And yes, the Bulls TMO's are on the same list." - Maarten Slabbert
"Ha ha! All SA refs suck big time...and Craig Joubert, how shocking! How can you let a SA ref officiate an SA and Aus game! They should get refs from the North." - Stephan du Toit
"The TMO have the best view, they should be able to make the correct decision without any help! I mean is it a try yes or no? How difficult can it be..." - Marli Botma
"Referee: try or no try? TMO: Its not clear, you may award the try! WTF?" - Ncedo Chiliboy Ngwendu
Refs had a bit of a 'Bryce Lawrence' in the past Super Rugby weekend. (Gallo Images)
HAVE YOUR SAY: Should refs be made more accountable for terrible refereeing decisions? Send your thoughts to Sport24.
Inconsistent policing of the rolling maul, inconsistent rulings over what constitutes a forward pass, and a litany of embarrassing TMO failures - despite having access to a multitude of camera angles and replays - have been an unwelcome feature of Super Rugby in the past couple of weeks.
Criticism of refs from Super Rugby teams has reached an all-time high.
GALLERY - Super Rugby - Round 14
VIDEO: Controversial TMO decision
In an embarrassing irony for SANZAR, one of the worst weeks in terms of officiating followed the recent handing out of a fine of R230 000 for the Stormers for misconduct towards a match official.
Here's what Sport readers had to say:
"What is being done about the poor quality of referees? We always hear about players being penalised but nothing about the refs!" - Michele Loots
"Super 15 rugby in 2013 will be remembered for the year of the most awful officiating of games! The standard is at an all time low and Sanzar should seriously attend to this issue." - Colin de Beer
"Pathetic and hugely embarrassing! How can we have these clowns officiating a professional sport? A kick in the teeth for the players!" - Andrew Bradford
"The refs should work on a points system and they should rate the refs after every game." - Anton Heunis
"Why cant they check the game afterwards and judge the ref, so they can deal with them also, they were PATHETIC!" - Mogaamad Said Rhoda
"Sanzar is wasting their time, as professional as refs can be or expected to be , they will always have favourite teams end of story,to sort this out I think first of all they need to find Ways to make it more of a profession than weekend job /hobby, because most of them have other qualifications and professions so being a ref doesn't matter much." - Aviwe Mandisi Yedma
"Match fixing as much as it can be denied its happening in rugby maybe choosing an officiating panel to be on standby and only announcing the ref on match days could help and also maybe having neutral refs in all games would make a difference too." - AMY
"The refs are as bad as Bryce Lawrence this tourney. I think we are in a situation were they are becoming spiteful to other nations. If they can be so bad, so can we." - Ronald Rose
"It is time that match officials be made accountable for consistent bad performance. Jaco Peyper is a prime example. So is Willy Munroe. Every week, same ridiculous calls. And yes, the Bulls TMO's are on the same list." - Maarten Slabbert
"Ha ha! All SA refs suck big time...and Craig Joubert, how shocking! How can you let a SA ref officiate an SA and Aus game! They should get refs from the North." - Stephan du Toit
"The TMO have the best view, they should be able to make the correct decision without any help! I mean is it a try yes or no? How difficult can it be..." - Marli Botma
"Referee: try or no try? TMO: Its not clear, you may award the try! WTF?" - Ncedo Chiliboy Ngwendu
Refs had a bit of a 'Bryce Lawrence' in the past Super Rugby weekend. (Gallo Images)
HAVE YOUR SAY: Should refs be made more accountable for terrible refereeing decisions? Send your thoughts to Sport24.
