Monday, February 16, 2009

2/14/2009 Raleigh B v. Fort Bragg

I went down for Raleigh, NC last weekend for a visit. When my older brother realized I was in town, and he had no referee assigned for his club's game, he asked me to officiate - mainly so he didn't have to do it. At any rate, I was happy to get a run in, considering my next game will be Mid-March (St. Paddy's Day in Savannah).

Fort Bragg is a D3 men's club, Raleigh is the 2007 D2 National Champion and is in the D1 playoffs this year - a mismatch as I'm sure you can imagine. The final scoreline, 67-5, was certainly not flattering to Fort Bragg, but considering the quality of opposition and how I have seen Bragg play in the past, I thought they did well as they blooded a few new players (front rowers) and had a numbers of other players waiting on the sideline aching to get into the mix.
A few notes on my performance in the game:
  • My fitness is not where I thought it was.

I found myself much farther behind play than I used to be, maybe Crossfit (which I recently joined) is not doing what I thought it would for my running fitness, or maybe my rehabbing ankle had not been on a proper run for awhile. Maybe I was letting my thoughts slow me down as it had been awhile since my last game so I was debating my decisions more with myself....cant be sure, the reason I was behind is probably a combination of all three and the only solution is to referee more games (and maybe run more).

  • Scrummage Infringement recognition improved.

This maybe have been due to the inexperience of the Bragg front rowers, but I spotted Raleigh coming in early a number of times, foot up, but no non straight feeds (I warned the halfback). I even had the halfbacks kick the ball back into the scrum twice...NUTS!

  • One dangerous tackle

I had an upending tackle in the first minutes of the game and I responded with a loud intimidating whistle and chat with the offending captain (no card). No more foul play / high tackles for the rest of the game. I guess I showed where I stood pretty well....

  • Halfback unhappy with my positioning

While refereeing the breakdown, I first take a position close to the ruck (behind, mobile) to find the ball, see that is won and usually retreat to the saddle and check the offsides. The Raleigh halfback, however, complained I was always blocking his line of sight to his flyhalf in my first position - effecting the game since he can't get vision before he passes the ball the second time he looks. I can see where the player is coming from, but the main thing I conclude from this criticism is that I was not varying my position enough. Or he was just a moaner.

  • For the first time as a referee, I got knocked over this game - in a swinging tackle, it swung in a direction I did not expect, right by the goal line. Fortunately I regained my feet and was in position for the try a few seconds later. I figured I would be hearing a lot about my stumble after the game, but the only person who seemed to notice was my girlfriend (#1 fan).
  • My brother scored a try.

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