Let us help get the refs up to speed, say top clubs

Premiership Rugby want to play a more active role in the recruitment and training of referees in future.
At present the RFU are responsible for all aspects of selection and development of  elite referees and their assistants.
But there are concerns within Premiership circles that standards are slipping, with a number of top-flight coaches expressing their displeasure in recent weeks.
Last weekend Leicester boss Richard Cockerill accused referee Andrew Small of “guessing” when it came to scrum offences during his side’s clash with Gloucester at Welford Road.
Northampton‘s Jim Mallinder and Rob Baxter of Exeter have also questioned the role of officials.
Cockerill went further by querying the development of referees, pointing the finger at the RFU professional rugby director Rob Andrew and elite referees boss Ed Morrison.
The former England hooker said: “It’s just not good enough. It has got to end. He (Andrew Small) needs to see his faults and improve.
“If you get beaten I don’t mind, but I want the rugby to decide, not the bloke in the middle making poor decisions. They need to educate them and Ed Morrison and Rob Andrew need to make sure they do that and if they don’t do it right, they don’t get a game, same as our blokes.”
Premiership Rugby are known to want a greater say in the management of officials and Saracens chairman Nigel Wray has called for referees to be taken ‘in house’.
Leicester executive director Peter Wheeler, who sits on the Professional Game Board referees strategy group, believes the clubs should have a bigger role to play.
He told The Rugby Paper: “We want to help referees in any way we can to get more right than wrong because there’s such a lot hinging on these games now.
“If coaches are coaching the laws and referees are refereeing them correctly, then we’ve got a much better chance of less whistle.
“In some respects, it’s about getting the right structure in place where everyone is going to learn and develop – coaches, players and referees.
“The clubs are charged with running academies, which identify good prospective young players who will play in the Premiership and for England. We do that in association with the RFU.
“It’s a system we could adapt to refereeing as well. It’s just another form of talent identification and it’s something Premiership Rugby have talked to RFU officials about.
“The whole point is to improve the system as much as we can and improve the support to referees.
“It’s about how we can improve the understanding between referees, coaches and teams.”
NEALE HARVEY