Opening weekend is upon us. Everyone's excited.
WGR thought this would be the appropriate time to offer a public service announcement and reminder to all our coaches, players, parents, and supporters.
To quote the Rugby Law Book, Law 6, A.4.a: "the referee is the sole judge of fact and law during a match. The referee must apply fairly all the laws of the game in every match."
This is the law from which rugby draws its age-old tradition that players, coaches, and supporters are not to contest a refereee decision. In fact no one is supposed to even yell at a referee during the match . This is one of the significant ways rugby differs with other sports. It's not like baseball where manager's kick sand on an umpire or spit in their face. You just don't see that kind of disrespect in rugby.
In addition, only one person on the pitch talks to the referee, to ask questions or clarifications. Teams are taught to channel communication through their spokesperson, the captain. A referee's job is hard enough; they can't have thirty people barking in their ear and expect to be able to see everything and communicate all they need to.
The flip side is the caveat that referee's must apply the laws of the game fairly. Consistency is a major component to any good refereeing.
Pictured below is one of Wisconsin's great captains from last year's Kettle Moraine team. Known for her passion for the game, positive leadership, and ability to communicate well, KM's captain shows how to interact with a referee respectfully:
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