Jeff Probyn column: Right or wrong, I’m pleased Luke Pearce took responsibility

The first games of the season are always a bit of a mess and last week was no exception as all the teams struggled to put the training field behind them and adjust to the reality of true competition. Although we saw some exciting rugby with a number of close-run games, it was mainly the ring-rusty performances of the better teams that stood out.
First, we had the farce that was Gloucester against Leicester where Gloucester let slip a 24-point advantage and allowed Leicester 31 unanswered points in the second half – exciting but not what you’d expect from professional rugby players.
Then Saracens, with their big England contingent who have had only a few weeks break, took time to find the tempo of their match against a gutsy Worcester and, although ending as comfortable winners, will be disappointed with how they played.
The next match at a disappointing Twickenham double header with only 47,000 seats sold, was the Quins v Bristol match, a game which is mired in controversy because the referee made a big decision and appears to have got it wrong.
The fact that everyone agreed that there was a forward pass in the build-up to Quins second try, except the referee, was controversial enough. However, when referee Luke Pearce went upstairs he asked the TMO if the ball had been grounded to score the try, not the usual, “is there any reason why I should not award the try?”
That left TMO Rowan Kitt unable to comment on whether it was a forward pass or not and even when he tried to suggest perhaps Pearce take a look, Pearce said he was happy with the pass.
Despite the controversy, I am glad that at last a referee has taken the responsibility to make a decision without always referring to the TMO. A big complaint from last season was the time spent referring passages of play to the TMO to confirm the obvious with the consequential breaks in play frustrating spectators and players.
Besides, who can honestly say if the ref was wrong? The current idea of what constitutes a forward pass and what does not would seem to me to rely on Einstein’s theory of relativity and a referee’s understanding of it.
If two players are running and the ball is passed in a straight line between them then it will appear to travel forward to anyone standing stationary at the side of the pitch and the same would be true for a stationary camera. A running referee would have a different perspective and would therefore make a different judgment than all the spectators and the TMO.
The question remains, who is right? The game of rugby is not played according to the Laws of the game but to the referee’s interpretation of the Laws, so the answer to that question must always be the referee.
As a former Bristol player, I am sad that it led to a defeat in their first game back in the top flight, especially against Quins. As an old Wasps player, I never want Quins to win but I am sure that over the course of the long season Bristol will get a few ‘wrong calls’ going their way that might even bring a smile to Andy Robinson’s face.