The Rise Of DIVING In Rugby! Referee Luke Pearce Reacts

[@josephsweeney4219]

No referee is perfect, but I'm a huge fan of Luke Pearce. This video highlights something that I love about rugby and are so different from sports here in USA. I can't think of another sport where commentators and a referee will have a candid conversation about refereeing as naturally as a couple of friends would over a pint - you'll never see a football ref having chat on screen in his hotel room. No agendas, no politics, no PR, just a genuine discussion about how to preserve the culture and quality of our game.

[@davidwalker2402]

@@josephsweeney4219 its strange though how much more popular soccer is than rugby, rugby seen as a sport of the privileged, get over yourself , many players have been hit really bad by bad refereeing and it should be called out whether after games or through hearings , but referees should be told in no uncertain terms when they Fcuk up.

[@davidwalker2402]

@@josephsweeney4219 Don’t be such a pig ignorant fool, are you insinuating there is something wrong with football people or fans are you really that ignorant. Do you think rugby people are somehow better than football people ? That is one of the most incredibly ignorant generalizations I have ever read and you’re pretty much out there with it. So many good people in football and rugby, how insulting Mr high and mighty.

[@davsavchav]

Springboks always take breathers against the All Blacks to recover, until the guise of getting assessed for injuries. Malcolm Marx is one that does it all the time.

[@davesmith826]

There has been an increase in gamesmanship in rugby over the past few years and its cause are the new laws on tackles, mitigation and HIAs. I supposrt these laws for player safety, but they can be - and clearly are being - exploited to gain a competitive advantage. How do you get this advantage? Simple: instruct your runners to drop low immediately before a collision to increase the chances of their head hitting the shoulder or head of a tackler. If it does, it's an instant yellow with a chance of being upgraded to red if the tackler has no mitigation through groundings. It's a yellow even if the tackler is fully grounded - knees bent and torso at a complete right angle at the point of collision. Wiley coaches picked up on this immediately, and it's one reason we are seeing more cards in the game. It's not just teething issues as teams adapt to the new laws. It's players and coaches gaming the system to get opposing players sent off. We cannot allow such gamesmanship to continue

[@Randombourg]

Gestures should be an automatic yellow card, only the captain can talk to the ref. It won't take too long after a ref shows half the backline cards for arm waving for it to stop. At the very least it brings the game into disrepute.

[@heyeksay]

I agree mandatory HIA for head contact …

[@jimofthenorth8090]

I've been screaming into the void about this for years. If player safety is the number priority, like we keep getting told, then if there's head contact you must go for a HIA.

[@daredemontriple6]

The thing is, Rugby referee's have got the beautiful power to punish a team in minor ways for minor infractions. Marching a team back 10, reversing a free kick or even a penalty, etc, but I rarely see it even threatened these days let alone actually carried out. I'd like to see more referees being firm with players, and backing up their own authority. Take the "use it" rule as an example, referee's are shouting a lot at nine's these days trying tog et them to actually comply. So why not, following a box kick into touch, tell the nine that the next time he needs to be told twice, he won't be, he'll be told once and then there'll be a whistle for a free kick - end of the day that's what the law actually says should happen anyway, referee's are just being lenient to let players get to grips with the game and help it flow, but I feel the other side of that coin is that players start feeling like they've got wiggle room. That they can bend the rules, some further than others, before they actually get penalised. That in turn encourages more challenges and appeals and even exaggeration/simulation. Players have learned they'll get a warning before they get a sanction, and that acts like a safety net. If I were a pro captain I'd be thinking "I should yap yap yap at everything I think is worth appealing, until I get the word to be less pestering, and then I'll just appeal the stuff that really is worth appealing" and that's not a good thing to encourage, as this does. I think I saw Pearce do this against sarries once actually - one of the Vunipolas just wouldn't drop his complaints - marched back 10, then another 10, and then...warned that further sanction might be coming. It was almost a perfect response. In my opinion though, being marched back twice is already plenty of leeway. It should have been a yellow after that. It was blatant disregard for the referee, to the point that even the punishments weren't getting through to him. When no further escalation came, it felt a lot like the bloke had been let off the hook despite doing enough disrespect to lose 20 meters of territory for it. Personally, I believe that's the solution to cynical acts. Strike them down with free kicks and losses of territory and see how quickly they decide it's not worth it. Maybe your appeal buys you TMO review, or maybe it loses you possession. Better off then only appealing the stuff you genuinely think was missed

[@TheJamesRedwood]

I like your Gland scarf.

[@MrHoundDoug]

To me simulation is foul play. I don't want the ref looking at it they have enough going on. Instead possible incidents should be reviewed after the game. And and any acts should be punished with weeks on the sideline. Likewise ball carriers who put their own head in a dangerous position deliberately too milk penalties should be sanctioned. Encouraging players to try and get concussed for the benefit of the team is not what these laws were supposed to do.

[@MarquitoRH]

1.The appealing at every ruck is a plague that should be banned. 2. It’s nothing new: Andy Haden’s and less famously Frank Oliver’s melodramatic floor dives at a line out in 1978 v Wales - yes I know the referee said he awarded the penalty for a different offence of holding down.

[@davidsefton4794]

I was going to say it's money that has caused the diving issue but it doesn't seem to be a problem in League.

[@josephmccafferty2830]

Nobody wants to see feigning injury from a collision, as we have become accustomed to seeing in football. It is totally at odds with the ethos of the game. It should be stamped on ruthlessly. It has come to the point in football that kids are now being taught how to "win a foul." That should never be allowed to creep into rugby.

[@MickeyMouse-ul2zs]

Have to disagree with Mr. Pearce a little bit in that in my opinion, the players should ALWAYS treat the referee like a God on the pitch. I know that we certainly did in my playing days.

[@JohnyTuff1]

Just like Bundee milking the Barrett hit

[@ASDan-123]

I don't think he milked it! He called the referee's attention to it! Should've been checked! I agree, Bundee shouldn't be screaming and holding his head, but sadly, you might not get a decision if you don't draw the referee's attention to it

[@cestrian5294]

The game is getting more and more like soccer now. These players should be banned. Sure, players take a rest by pretending to be hurt, but actually diving is a disgrace.

[@daveburnham9111]

The argument that exaggeration is not simulation is nonsense. Bring back Nigel Owens. The very reason we are discussing simulation is because its happening and fans don't like it. Take national and club pride away and demand that rugby does not end up looking like soccer.

[@daredemontriple6]

I don't know if that's true. If a bloke has hit his head, how can anyone tell whether the reaction to it is genuine or not before a medical professional has assessed him? I've seen players dumped on their head in horrendous tackles, and play on the full 80 with no HIA required. And I've seen players run into the back of their own man, hit their head on a shoulder at low speed, and be knocked out cold. HIA failed, out of play for 3 weeks. You simply can't tell how bad the damage is without a proper medical assessment, and even then there are active disputes over whether the HIA process is adequate. Simulation does happen occasionally yes, and no we very much do not like it. But exaggeration definitely happens too, it happens a lot more in-fact. How many times do you see a bloke go down with some sort of ambiguous cramp, only to be up and running again fine after a swig of water and a stretch, and wonder "Was he really hurt or cramping? Or did he just need a breather before this scrum/lineout?". Take national/club pride away? Well that really is nonsense. If there's no pride in the shirt you're wearing, then why even compete at all? I mean that's all it's about isn't it, winning. The innate motivator to win, is pride

[@tcr4507]

There’s a massive increase in diving in rugby, spearheaded by northern teams. Gross.

[@RhydderchApRheged-rh7sj]

Mate have you forgot Kolbe’s dive 💀

[@ASDan-123]

Spearheaded by Northern hemisphere?! Bryan Habana tried to make out Owen Farrell took his head off! Looking back, Farrell barely touched him! Kolbe has dived twice now! Mako Vunipola called bullshit ans lifted him up like an angry dad😂😂😂 But sadly Kolbe was up to his old tricks and tried to milk a penalty against Ireland! Pathetic stuff

[@ASDan-123]

Let's not forget Nic White's shameful piece of acting!!🙈🙈 Northern hemisphere are spearheading it though yeah?!😜😂

[@paterson01234]

For every NH example you can give there's 2 SH examples. It ain't us. It's the Aussies and saffas that are diving

[@davidwalker2402]

Luke Pearce ridiculed Doris on the pitch in SA spoke to him like a child, he can be one of the most biased referees on the planet. He should never be charge of a WC Final and I wouldn’t consider him for the 6 nations.

[@limbothytimothy]

Imagine being this much of a snowflake

[@ASDan-123]

Completely agree! He was an absolute disgrace in that game!!

[@troglodytestroglodytes220]

With respect, I disagree sir.

[@davidwalker2402]

@@troglodytestroglodytes220 when you talk to adults like they’re children, you lose all respect. Too big for his tight boots. He has always been a bad referee.

[@troglodytestroglodytes220]

@ I understood you the first time, still disagreeing