WHY have they stolen our game? That was the headline of a brilliant article by Willie John McBride.
When he and I played (albeit at vastly different levels) the game focused solely on player enjoyment. And boy did we have fun!
The presence of the referee was subordinate to this aim and you hardly noticed him. Except when he blew his whistle his mouth stayed shut.
Today in the professional game they (and the TMO) have become the dominant personality on the field. They spend more time coaching than refereeing.
On top of that for incomprehensible reasons crooked scrum feeds are totally ignored...