New role likely for line umpires

Press, 22 April 1980, Page 24

New role likely for line umpires

It should not be long before line umpires in senior rugby matches in Christchurch have the power to inform the referee - of any blatant incidents of foul play they see. This additional role for line urhpires has been written into the laws of the game, but it has yet to be applied in New Zealand. A request that unionappointed referees be .given the authority to intervene was made by the referees’ representative, Mr ' J. G. Cadigan, at a meeting of the Canterbury union. The union was sympathetic to the request, but felt that, as with senior referees, it should approve the umpires who were to be given the added responsibility. The referees’ association will be asked to provide a list of people it believes competent. Gavin McEwan, the Hornby senior lock ordered off last Saturday, was suspended for one Saturday. McEwan was charged with over-vigorous rucking. The judicial committee re- < ported that it did not con- - sider the offence particularly ;

serious and that was why the penalty was fairly light. The union’s chairman, Mr B. J. Drake, issued a warning to senior players that anybody sent off for serious offences could expect a much heavier sentence. The competitions chairman, Mr W. A. Russell, reported that there would be no 1 fifth grade competition this season. This is a grade usually filled by teams from the University and Lincoln College clubs, but the only teams entered were three from the University club. “It is impossible to run a competition with three teams, and these three have been incorporated in the fourth grade,” said Mr Russell. He said that entries in the open grades were most satisfactory and would be slightly up on last season. The meeting was told that sales of the union’s handbook, containing teams and officials, were going well and of the 1381 available to the public, 640 had already been sold. The union confirmed its earlier decision of not producing give-away team sheets until Saturday week.