Big match refs will adhere to current law trials

Referees officiating in the Heineken and Amlin Challenge Cup competitions will adhere to the law trials in operation in the Aviva Premiership, the Top 14 and the RaboDirect PRO12 competitions.

The law trials include the new scrum engagement sequence of ‘Crouch-Touch-Set’, the five-seconds required to play a ball at a ruck following the referee’s call of ‘Use it’, and the allocation of 90 seconds for a conversion after a try has been awarded. Television Match Officials (TMOs) appointed to Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup fixtures will operate under the existing IRB TMO protocol and not the protocol being trialled in the Aviva Premiership and in the Currie Cup in South Africa.

Referees have been asked to be particularly vigilant at the tackle area, to monitor offside and sealing off at breakdowns and kicks, to ensure a contest at the start of a maul and to manage the scrum engagement sequence. These key points and others were emphasised by ERC Match Official Performance Manager, Donal Courtney, during a comprehensive series of workshops with coaching staff from all 44 clubs who are participating in this season’s ERC tournaments .