COLIN BOAG

Back in December I highlighted the problems that are caused by allowing referees to interpret the laws in their own way, and last weekend’s round of Six Nations games highlighted this again.
Whereas the set-piece used to dominate games, nowadays it’s the breakdown, and we really can’t have top refs effectively deciding games by the differing ways they officiate.
At the breakdown it’s all about how much of a contest is allowed, and there has to be consistency. In the Scotland v England game Nigel Owens allowed more of a contest than Premiership refs do, w...