I reckon former Reds and Wallabies fullback Chris Latham was speaking for rugby lovers all over the world when he said that pedantic officiating and excessive whistle-blowing at the breakdown were killing the game...
 
Latham, who established himself as one of international rugby’s most exciting players between 1998 and 2008, didn’t hold back during a media conference to promote last week’s Reds-Waratahs blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium.
 
While stressing the need to protect players from head injuries and their long-term effects, he became one of the few former elite players to come out and say what so many rugby lovers are thinking and talking about – that the people in charge of the game have gone too far.
 
‘From a pure rugby point of view and as a purist of the game, I think we’re really killing the game with all these stoppages,’ he said.  Latham said over-protective officiating would rob the game of its most important feature – the contest. ‘Rugby’s an inclusive sport,’ he said. ‘We cater for bigger boned men and women, the tall and short. If we take the contest out of the game, what do we become – a game that caters for one body shape. The beauty of our game is the contest in every element of the game, whether it’s the scrum, the lineout, the breakdown. Even the high ball. It’s become whoever comes off worse gets the penalty, instead of the one who gets the ball, gets the ball.’
 
He was also critical of the citing of Reds’ prop Taniela Tupou by SANZAAR for an incident in the Round 5 clash against the Brumbies despite it being okayed by the referee and video match official at the time. With Tupou eventually cleared by the judiciary, Latham said it was typical of the over-zealous officiating that is frustrating the game’s followers - and confusing them.
 
As a former representative front rower and top-level forwards coach said to me recently, ‘When the referee blows his whistle for a scrum penalty, I have no idea which way he is going to point his arm.’ Latham agreed.
 
‘In my eyes we’re starting to kill the game and it’s very disappointing, but we’ve just got to keep moving forward as players and find ways to get around it.’
 
I reckon ‘Latho’ was right on the money and the people in charge should listen very carefully to what he had to say if they don’t want to get left further behind by the other major football codes in this country – and around the world.
 
What do YOU reckon?