Ref should have given Ireland a penalty try but Henshaw can count himself luckyUnlike James Doleman at Murrayfield, Nika Amashukeli’s communication at Twickenham was ideal – firm, concise, precise, politeMon Feb 10 2025 - 19:00
Owen Doyle: England threw in some dangerous tackles against Ireland that weren’t picked up by officialsRomain Ntamack’s deserved sending-off could have big consequences for France Mon Feb 03 2025 - 18:17
Owen Doyle: Give the scrum back its purpose or risk damaging the Six Nations - and Australia’s regeneration Let’s hope the Six Nations is not overly affected by debatable scrum decisionsMon Jan 27 2025 - 19:25
Owen Doyle: Nika Amashukeli showed again why he is the best referee in the worldLeinster were fortunate against Bath with the sequence of events leading up to Obano red cardMon Jan 20 2025 - 19:46
Chris Busby resigning shows Mack Hansen issue has been botched from first to lastAffair raises serious questions for URC and IRFU, and is unlikely to do much for recruitment and retention of refereesMon Jan 13 2025 - 18:33
Amateur rugby officials don’t give up their time to be insulted and abusedEveryone needs to remember the simple old truism that without a referee there is no gameTue Jan 07 2025 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Steven Kitshoff’s close call shows scrum laws need to changeNew global law trials lack suggestions to improve what has proven to be a disastrous phase of the gameMon Dec 30 2024 - 17:59
Owen Doyle: Mack Hansen’s ill-advised comments simply cannot be allowed pass without sanction The international’s comments set a dangerous precedent and the URC, and the IRFU, must take appropriate actionMon Dec 23 2024 - 18:15
Owen Doyle: Referees should not strive to be everyone’s pal. Foul play needs real disapprovalDangerous carded actions must get more than just a nonchalant wave of the card from the refereeMon Dec 16 2024 - 18:57
Owen Doyle: Luke Pearce had a bad day at Thomond Park, including one extremely poor callLeo Cullen doesn’t need telling that Sam Prendergast needs serious tackle mentoringMon Dec 09 2024 - 18:00
Owen Doyle: Scrum is too often an ugly blot on the game, rather than a terrific attacking platformJoe Schmidt will be examining video of Ireland’s win over Australia with a particular focus on knock-onsMon Dec 02 2024 - 19:00
Owen Doyle: Andy Farrell sure to have a word as Sam Prendergast lucky not to see redReferee Hollie Davidson needs more of a cutting edge when it comes to communicationMon Nov 25 2024 - 18:55
Owen Doyle: Caelan Doris plays a risky game but match officials found wanting Ireland’s captain obstructing a potential Argentinian defender for winning try but validity of score not checkedTue Nov 19 2024 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Ireland must ensure Scott Barrett’s claim about Joe McCarthy is not swept under the carpet World Rugby Council’s decisions this week on new laws could have big effectsTue Nov 12 2024 - 06:00
England vs New Zealand: Players tackling lower leading to more offloads and runningOwen Doyle: A crying shame that World Rugby is not studying the scrum and attempting to restore this pivotal part of the game to its original purposeMon Nov 04 2024 - 18:14
Owen Doyle: Video nasties required to show just what merits a red card Forget words, written or spoken; visuals are needed – clear, unambiguous video clips of what foul play gets what punishmentTue Oct 29 2024 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: The defining skill of top referees needs to be brought up to speed‘Too often we see referees falling behind the play, failing to anticipate what should be blindingly obvious’Mon Oct 21 2024 - 19:00
Defusing rugby’s bomb squad: Revised replacement rules needed to protect player wellbeingSweeping replacements up front mean fatiguing opponents face what amounts to a new opposing packTue Oct 15 2024 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: World Rugby needs to stick to its guns with no replacement red cards for ‘aggravated foul play’World governing body’s new proposals could allow a replacement for Cane-like incidents while remaining utterly unforgiving of hard shoulders to the head and similar foul playMon Oct 07 2024 - 18:17
Owen Doyle: Brutal and compelling Test was great to watch – but who’d want to play it?South Africa v Ireland: In their reimagining of the game, it’s very doubtful that this is what World Rugby have in mindMon Jul 15 2024 - 18:38
Owen Doyle: Ireland-South Africa match officials unlikely to enjoy performance reviews after poor dayThe lack of TMO review for RG Snyman’s tackle on Craig Casey stood out as an incorrect decisionMon Jul 08 2024 - 19:40
Owen Doyle: Dangerous tackling not limited only to head-high tacklesOwen Doyle: World Rugby would do well to remind us that the full rigour of the game’s laws must be applied to all forms of dangerous tacklingTue Jul 02 2024 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Referees must handle outside pressure from South Africa for Ireland TestsReferee Andrea Piardi had a brilliant game in the URC final, despite the comments of Bulls coachMon Jun 24 2024 - 19:00
Owen Doyle: Bulls deserved to beat Leinster, but the match deserved an elite refereeThe URC has a problem on its hands when it comes to appointing match officialsTue Jun 18 2024 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Injury exists in rugby and match officials need to keep pace with demandA new generation of referees is emerging for this URC, a competition which has grown immensely in stature and now heads towards the semi-finals and grand finalTue Jun 11 2024 - 06:00
Key decision against Leinster highlights risk of refereeing system failure A worrying cohort of referees appear dependent on their TMO comfort blanketTue Jun 04 2024 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Extra-time yellow card for James Lowe was a huge call – and a harsh oneOwen Doyle: Antoine Dupont makes the crucial difference for Toulouse but for Leinster losing three consecutive Champions Cup finals is the stuff of sporting nightmaresMon May 27 2024 - 16:41
Ask Owen Doyle: When should a rugby referee give a warning, and when should they give a penalty?Our refereeing expert Owen Doyle answers readers’ questions on warnings, complicit officials and breakdown etiquetteTue May 21 2024 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Let’s stop the law tinkering – safety issues apartOwen Doyle: World Rugby proposals remain a work in progress but still not strong enough to discourage serious foul playTue May 14 2024 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Mathieu Raynal’s calm demeanour contributed to a great occasion at Croke ParkFrench referee’s Mathieu Raynal's clear officiating at the scrum in Croke Park an example which others would do well to followTue May 07 2024 - 06:00
When it comes to the 20-minute red card replacement, World Rugby should play it safe The ugly side of rugby has not gone away, and the deterrent of a straight red card should not be dilutedMon Apr 22 2024 - 19:00
Owen Doyle: I have a growing sense of unease around ‘pick and drive’ triesReferee Karl Dickson was very much centre stage but there was no disputing Leinster’s superiority against La Rochelle this time aroundTue Apr 16 2024 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Strong referee performance is vital when La Rochelle visit the Aviva next weekendBrousset was reactive and overly patient instead of delivering a clear plan to increase the level of sanction in Leinster-Leicester matchMon Apr 08 2024 - 19:27
Officials should not be able to hear pundits such as Austin Healey during matchesThe people who said Leinster’s Luke McGrath should not been sent off against Bulls were wrongMon Apr 01 2024 - 17:38
Owen Doyle: Severe brain damage is the elephant in the room for World RugbyA fundamental need exists for World Rugby to rid the game of dangerTue Mar 26 2024 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: The Six Nations was good, but France should have finished fifth We need to know exactly why Ireland’s Tadgh Furlong was denied a try against ScotlandMon Mar 18 2024 - 19:07
Owen Doyle: Two thundering matches have saved this year’s Six Nations, but not all of the calls were spot on A pair of action-packed encounters at Twickenham and the Stadio Olimpico showed two very different approaches to refereeingMon Mar 11 2024 - 20:01
Failure to give Italy another penalty after Paolo Garbisi’s miss was baffling But it’s generally good we’re hearing less chatter from refereesMon Mar 04 2024 - 19:00
Owen Doyle: Evidence not conclusive enough to award Wales a penalty try against IrelandIn the Italy-France game, we saw the shot clock in all its mad glory when it denied the Azzurri a historic victoryTue Feb 27 2024 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: World Rugby must be aware of unintended consequences in law trialsAntidote to end scourge of kick tennis goes on trial in Super Rugby PacificMon Feb 19 2024 - 18:17
Owen Doyle: Common sense was lacking in denying Scotland their late try against FranceSurely, these very tight situations should be treated in the same way as a penalty try, on the basis of probabilityMon Feb 12 2024 - 18:19
Owen Doyle: World Rugby’s officials start on the front foot after strong opening roundPaul Willemse was fortunate not to see red earlier than he did - he could pay for his indiscretion with a hearing set to comeTue Feb 06 2024 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Inexplicable rescinding of Caulfield red card against Connacht sends the wrong messageOwen Doyle: If seriously endangering a prone player’s head via a reckless boot is not a red card then rugby’s future is grimTue Jan 30 2024 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Ugly red card incidents a bad advertisement for rugbyFinlay Bealham and Tom Ahern were injured by ‘reckless’ actions which saw culprits deservedly sent offMon Jan 22 2024 - 19:00
Owen Doyle: Nika Amashukeli shows he has joined the top rank of refereesGeorgian Nika Amashukeli showed once again in Munster's win over Toulon that he is now established in the top quartile of elite rugby refereesTue Jan 16 2024 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: We’ve seen the type of clearout on Jack O’Donoghue before - Ralston should have seen redConnacht wing being shown the wrong colour card is the latest evidence that officials have become too lax at the breakdownFri Jan 05 2024 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Controversial Slade try shows we hear too much TMO input at times, not enough at others French TMO Cédric Marchat shouldn’t have asked to check Slade’s onside position, but rather that of the lazy runners - he did notMon Dec 18 2023 - 18:00
Owen Doyle: Matthew Carley promised cards for backchat but didn’t deliverEnglish referee frustrated by frequent remonstrations from Leinster and La Rochelle playersTue Dec 12 2023 - 06:00
What is the function of a referee coach? Simply put, it is about performance improvementIt’s small price to pay for putting these vital red card calls back in the hands of the refereeTue Nov 28 2023 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: The scrum has lost its purpose, it’s time World Rugby made some changesThe scrum has moved far from its original purpose and has become, too often, a penalty-generating machineMon Nov 06 2023 - 18:23
