Owen Doyle: World Rugby throws soft paperback at Tomas LavaniniRassie Erasmus to make documentary appearance while URC still has officiating holeMon Dec 06 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Weekend Tests show that referees should reach for their cards soonerMatches emphasise need to punish serial offenders and retain control of gameTue Nov 23 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Luke Pearce had a solid performance despite inappropriate use of ‘mate’Pearce stayed calm throughout a tense affair but caused confusion around Carbery’s kickTue Nov 16 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Japan win was refreshing but All Blacks will bring the heatThe intensity brought by New Zealand in Saturday’s Test will be off the Richter scalerTue Nov 09 2021 - 06:00
Foul play incidents leave World Rugby with plenty of unanswered questionsCentralised disciplinary system needs to be centralised under the sport’s governing bodyTue Nov 02 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: World Rugby’s sanction on Rassie Erasmus must fit crimeSouth African’s delayed hearing for rant during Lions tour is about to take placeTue Oct 26 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Lions pay a high price for key blunders by Williams and CurryPenalty call against Lawes harsh but butchered try-scoring chances lost itTue Aug 10 2021 - 01:00
Owen Doyle: Violence making rugby more nightmare than dreamUncontrolled levels of brutal force and uncontrolled aggression is not attractiveTue Aug 03 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Rassie Erasmus pushing the spirit of the laws to their absolute limitsThe first Test was a poor game of rugby and the ill-tempered build-up even worseMon Jul 26 2021 - 07:31
Owen Doyle: High tackles continue to be a very real problem for rugbyWorld Rugby’s tackling lessons plan a great idea but unlikely to change behaviourSat Jul 10 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Referee Luke Pearce far from perfect in fraught finalReferee was never far from the centre of attention, some of his own making, some notTue May 25 2021 - 01:00
Owen Doyle: Henshaw can count himself lucky his Lions dream is still a realityHard to see why the laws were not applied fully to his tackle on Robert BaloucouneTue May 18 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Mixed bag from referees in Europe but ‘latching’ must be outlawedTactic of two players running together at defensive line has very dangerous potentialTue May 04 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Opportunity knocks to make real change in IRFU governanceBrowne’s tenure has been very successful but old committee system could be alteredTue Apr 27 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Red card replacements would let sinners off the hookPlayers who are sent off can be replaced after 20 minutes under new Rainbow Cup trialTue Apr 20 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: IRFU should be encouraging representation for Irish refereesOfficials get a very raw deal that no player would acceptTue Apr 13 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Mixed bag from Wayne Barnes as he continues race for referee goldToulouse simply better than Munster while Amashukeli caught the eye in LondonTue Apr 06 2021 - 06:12
Owen Doyle: France may well benefit in the long run from Scotland defeatThe arrogance that has been wafting over the French set-up needed to be clearedTue Mar 30 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Bundee Aki is good but really needs to change technique‘Matey’ Luke Pearce and ‘Barnesy’ Wayne Barnes were utterly irritating in ParisTue Mar 23 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Scotland will feel aggrieved at Poite’s breakdown penaltiesBrace and Neville leave with heads held high after Twickenham thrillerTue Mar 16 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: New laws on Australian show could turn rugby union into leagueUnion’s struggle for popularity in Australia has seen new controversial rules adoptedTue Mar 09 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Culture of ‘clip memory’ among modern referees not cutting it on the pitchThere’s nothing to beat knowing the laws when you step out on the pitchSat Mar 06 2021 - 13:30
Owen Doyle: Calamity in Cardiff is hard to get your head aroundIreland’s James Ryan lucky not to be punished for incident in RomeTue Mar 02 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: For many, the schools’ cup of nightmares is not missedMuch needed change in rugby must come from the top down, not from the bottom upTue Feb 23 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: World Rugby have a duty to make the sport safer for next generationCaelan Doris will likely not be alone in suffering issues and more must be doneSat Feb 20 2021 - 07:00
Owen Doyle: Clearout red cards will see the penny finally drop with players and coachesScotland’s Zander Fagerson the latest to head for an early shower for a reckless hitTue Feb 16 2021 - 06:36
Owen Doyle: Peter O’Mahony’s act of thuggery deserves tough sanctionCardiff game left such a bad taste after stirring encounters on SaturdayTue Feb 09 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Not everyone is on board for red card and dangerous play rulesPlayers’ duty of care for opponents seems to have completely gone out the windowFri Feb 05 2021 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: World Rugby needs to end dangerous clean-outs, and quicklyThe laws of the game are not being applied properly and players are at risk of serious injuryWed Dec 23 2020 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Rugby will have a high price to pay if it doesn’t tackle head-high hitsOut of three red-card offences in Sydney only one received ultimate sanctionTue Dec 08 2020 - 06:45
Owen Doyle: Scrum a major issue World Rugby must addressAuthorities also need to double down on their High Tackle Framework strategyTue Dec 01 2020 - 01:01
Owen Doyle: Ireland suffered from officiating of the breakdownJoy Neville makes important calls in Wales as other officials struggle over the weekendTue Nov 24 2020 - 06:59
Owen Doyle: Wales lucky to escape heavier censure for a litany of offencesIreland will learn more about their worth after daunting trip to TwickenhamMon Nov 16 2020 - 06:00
Red cards needed to ensure player safety is priority in rugbyTeams have a duty of care to their opponents, and must expect sanction for dangerous playMon Nov 09 2020 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Ireland should have been awarded penalty try for Bouthier batBarnes got most things right in Paris but Keenan would have scored without interventionTue Nov 03 2020 - 06:55
Owen Doyle: World Rugby and Six Nations must make example of Eddie JonesRecent incidents involving Jones and Tuilagi show disciplinary systems needs updatingThu Mar 19 2020 - 07:09
Owen Doyle: It’s time for referees to stop chatting and hand out punishmentsAffability doesn’t always work while Eddie Jones’ rants need to be tackledThu Mar 12 2020 - 07:47
Owen Doyle: Time to speed up scrum formation and apply quicker sanctionsThe scrum needs a serious fix having been hijacked by teams in the professional eraThu Mar 05 2020 - 09:01
Owen Doyle: Ireland were fortunate to keep full complement on pitchDangerous ruck tackles by Toner and Ryan were not picked up or reviewed by officialsThu Feb 27 2020 - 06:50
Owen Doyle: Day of the jackal may be coming to an endWorld Rugby looking to put safety brake on the breakdownThu Feb 20 2020 - 06:00
‘Your father works for my father’: Schools rugby turning toxic in the standsBest reads of 2020: Supporter behaviour at Donnybrook could have more serious legal implicationsThu Feb 13 2020 - 16:02
Owen Doyle: Breakdown a shambles in Murrayfield comedy of errorsGauzere’s familiar French laissez-faire approach ensured that mayhem ensuedThu Feb 13 2020 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Concussions bring high tackle trial into focusWorld Rugby doing its best to address a persistent and worrying problemWed Feb 05 2020 - 19:00
Owen Doyle: Breakdown of law and order in rugby must stopIf referees don’t know or don’t apply the laws of the game correctly then anarchy resultsTue Jan 28 2020 - 06:30
Owen Doyle: Creeping professionalism of schools rugby a threat to the gameAction is needed before playing numbers start to decline – as they are in New ZealandFri Jan 24 2020 - 05:30
Owen Doyle: Focus on referees’ neutrality hurts qualityIrish and Welsh officials in particular not given enough exposure to pressure gamesWed Nov 06 2019 - 06:30
Owen Doyle: Debate required over scrum as a source of penalties kick chancesEngland can have no complaint with Garces as South African pressure game prevailsMon Nov 04 2019 - 05:20
Garcès’s communication at breakdown and scrum are keyOwen Doyle: ‘Less is more’ approach to communication from referees is preferableWed Oct 30 2019 - 06:00
Owen Doyle: Referees step up to the plate at Rugby World Cup semi-finalsIt’s a straight choice between Nigel Owens and Jérôme Garcès to referee the finalMon Oct 28 2019 - 09:57
Owen Doyle: Jaco Peyper’s cardinal error puts it up to the referee selectorsPhoto fallout highlights the limited viable options for selecting officials in JapanWed Oct 23 2019 - 07:02
