THE URC’S HEAD of match officials, Tappe Henning, says Munster’s clash with Leinster at Croke Park should have been stopped to ensure that Munster were not erroneously reduced to 14 players for a four-minute period in which Leinster scored their third try.
Henning spoke to Munster head coach Graham Rowntree this morning to explain why the error occurred and to stress that the URC will do its utmost to ensure it never happens again.
Speaking to The 42, Henning explained that confusion over the nature of Diarmuid Barron’s injury led to the mistake during a chaotic period in the first half at Croke Park, underlining that it “shouldn’t have happened.”
Munster’s starting hooker, Niall Scannell, left the pitch for a Head Injury Assessment [HIA] in the 7th minute, with sub hooker Barron coming on as a temporary replacement.
Barron then had to leave the pitch for a HIA in the 11th minute when Munster loosehead prop Jeremy Loughman also had to come off for a blood injury to be dealt with. Barron and Loughman both left the pitch after Caelan Doris had scored Leinster’s second try.
Loughman was temporarily replaced by John Ryan at that point but Barron was not temporarily replaced, as he should have been, and the game restarted with Munster incorrectly down to 14 players.
There were two subsequent breaks in play when Munster conceded penalties but they remained down to 14 players as Leinster scored their third try through Hugo Keenan.
Only after Keenan’s try were Munster restored to 15 players when Kieran Ryan came on as a temporary replacement for Barron.
Henning indicated that three injuries to front row players in such a short space of time led to confusion for the match officials responsible for overseeing replacements from the touchline.
“Number 16 [Barron] went off but the technical table match officials weren’t sure and weren’t informed formally why the player was taken off the pitch,” said Henning.
This meant the officials were attempting to determine whether Munster should be reduced to 14 players, which can occur when uncontested scrums come into play.
“There are certain laws where you need to take into consideration the reasons why those players are off the field and those reasons will determine whether the team continues with 15 players or 14 players,” said Henning.
“It was hugely important for the technical officials to determine the correct reasons why those players were off the field, specifically the number 16 [Barron] who was walking into the tunnel and they weren’t aware he went into the tunnel and weren’t told by the match day doctor or the team doctors what it was for.”
With the game about to restart following Doris’ try, which required a TMO review, there was a scramble on the touchline.
“My understanding is that there was a lot of discussion that happened, whether it [a temporary replacement for Barron] should be allowed, whether it shouldn’t be allowed,” said Henning.
“There were officials from Leinster that said it shouldn’t be allowed because of this and that. So in the process, it took longer than we would have liked to see.
“In the meantime, play continued and the kick-off was taken. While they were determining the facts and making sure they were in the right position to inform the referee what happened, play continued and Leinster scored a try in that time.”
Henning admitted that should not have been allowed to happen.
He said the URC had informed officials that a game should be stopped in similar circumstances to ensure the correct number of players are on the field before play continues.
“That’s really unfortunate, that shouldn’t have happened,” said Henning.
“Our learning from this and the process moving forward is this: if we have a unique situation like we had here – two hookers and a loosehead prop getting injured within three minutes – it will be worth our while to stop the game, get the referee across, inform the referee of the situation and where we are in the process of clearing all of this, so that there’s clear communication to the referee and he can then tell the two teams why we’re having a bit of a delay before the restart of the game to make sure no team is put at a disadvantage.
“It was an unfortunate sequence of events that put pressure on the group and it wasn’t handled in the best way. It caused a delay to get the replacement on the field and in the future, we will not continue with the game until that’s been sorted so no team is put at a disadvantage.”
Henning hopes that in such circumstances in the future, the information can be swiftly relayed to broadcasters in order for them to inform TV audiences what’s happening.
“Also both coaches could listen into the conversation that the [touchline] officials have with the referee and you then don’t have coaches having to walk down from the coaches’ box to the technical zone to understand what’s happening.”
Henning said Munster did not lodge an official enquiry about the incident following their defeat to Leinster but head coach Graham Rowntree requested a phone call with him.
They spoke this morning after Munster had landed in Cape Town in South Africa ahead of their game against the Stormers this weekend.
“I discussed with him what happened, why the process was so delayed, and what our processes will be moving forward, how we’ll take a little more time to be accurate rather than rush things and get it wrong,” said Henning.
“Graham was quite understanding about it. He was disappointed, yes. He thanked me for explaining it and clearing it up.”
Henning said this incident will provide crucial lessons for the off-field match officials responsible for managing replacements.
While URC referees are full-time professionals and one of the assistant referees is also full-time, the remainder of the match day officials such as 4th officials, TMOs, and timekeepers are usually volunteers from within referee’s societies.
Having 80% of the officials team made up of volunteers is the reality but Henning said that ”that’s no excuse” and stressed the need for continuous training.
“The 4th officials and 5th officials who work in those positions are not full-time, they’re not professional,” said Henning.
“It’s a good learning for our 4s and 5s group, not just those involved in the Leinster game but this message will go out across all the unions.”
He said there was a similar situation in the Bulls’ clash with the Ospreys when there was also confusion around the number of players who should be on the pitch.
The regulations with regards to uncontested scrums and player numbers have led to several confusing incidents in recent years, underlining the need for further education.
Despite last weekend’s error, Henning is confident that the officiating of the URC is going in the right direction.
On the pitch, the retirement of experienced referees Jaco Peyper, Frank Murphy, Joy Neville, and Ben Blain means there is work to be done to ensure the next wave are developing as strongly as possible.
Henning points to success stories like the IRFU’s Eoghan Cross as an example of why he’s excited, while also highlighting that Irishman Peter Martin will referee his fourth URC game this weekend when he takes charge of Dragons v Benetton.
“I’m pleased where we’re going,” said Henning. “We’re trying to expand. We need more referees on our panel so that we have experienced referees and assistant referees. The unions are working tirelessly to provide officials of quality for the URC.”
