Referees’ chief O’Brien pulls rank on tackle law

PADDY O’BRIEN, the International Rugby Board Referees’ manager, who came in for sharp criticism after last Saturday’s Ireland-Wales game at Croke Park, addressed the situation in forthright fashion in Killiney yesterday.

O’Brien spent 17 years in the New Zealand police force and was never going to be a soft target for pressmen seeking an explanation for the apparent change in interpretation of the tackle law midway through the current Six Nations Championship.

Indeed, he went on to explain that the Irish management and specifically coach Declan Kidney had been advised before the tournament began that law 15. 6 c would be strictly enforced and that it was not a case of changing anything in mid-stream.