Top referee Ben O'Keeffe had plenty to do in last night's game at Eden Park. The Blues eventually beat the Crusaders 26-6, however the first half in particular was a stop-start affair with many frustrating handling errors and penalties.
O'Keeffe said that the wet conditions played their part in what transpired.
"When we see a game, we want the game to flow," O'Keeffe said post match.
"Sometimes games present themselves like that, weather conditions, so we saw a lot of knock on decisions by myself … we like to get stuck in as referees and try and do the best job that we can."
However, the onus was on the players to make the game a spectacle.
"We can't make the game up, we have to referee what's in front of us."
The high penalty count meant O'Keeffe showed three yellow cards throughout the match, firstly to Blues flanker Dalton Papali'i, then to Willi Heinz and Sevu Reece of the Crusaders. All three were for repeated infringements that slowed down their opposition's attack.
"When we see a game, we want the game to flow, we want the game to have a lot of tries. And sometimes you get a team that repeatedly infringes or they slow the ball down on the goal line, and that's what we had today.
"We had a player entering the side to kill the ball on the goal line (Papali'i). We had an offside that was after a lot of advantages for offside (Reece) and also another player lying on the ball not allowing that quick recycle (Heinz). So as a referee we had to balance it up around: OK, is it deliberate as an action that has been repeated, and if it is, we can sanction with a yellow card so we can change that behaviour and get better continuity in the game."
Sevu Reece of the Crusaders during the round 5 Super Rugby Pacific rugby match between the Blues and the Crusaders at Eden Park. Photo: David Rowland/ Photosport
Notably, there were no dangerous play situations for O'Keeffe and his refereeing team to deal with. That's in contrast to the day's earlier match in Hamilton between the Chiefs and Highlanders, that saw the off-field review system upgrade Tanielu Tele'a's yellow card to a red, then Chiefs captain Luke Jacobson was sin binned.
Both men were adjudged to have committed tackles that resulted in dangerous head contact, however Jacobson's had enough mitigating factors to warrant a sin binning only. It's also notable that four out of the six men sanctioned (Highlanders wing Timoci Tavatavanawai was also shown a yellow for a professional foul) in the two games are experienced test players.
O'Keeffe was keen to point out that refereeing in a professional environment is a team effort. The fact that at Super Rugby level the same team of officials are kept together for the season, in contrast to the constantly changing selections for test matches.
"We have the same assistant referees and TMOs (television match officials) that we've had for the last three years now … there's a lot of stuff we do in the game in terms of communication, off the ball, downtime, our teamwork. Which I think reflects on the games we referee and the team helped me a lot tonight."
Super Rugby Pacific is only five rounds in this season but the slight tweaks to the officiating that have seen the TMO take a step back in responsibility have been met with generally positive reviews from fans. Despite the game at Eden Park probably not being one that will give highlight reel editors a lot of work in the future, O'Keeffe said that it was still a valuable experience.
"You don't always get the pretty games … sometimes you have to observe what's in front of you. So, if you prepare well and you're confident in your pictures, then you can still do a good job."
