England skipper Steve Borthwick chats to referee Marius Jonker during his side's recent clash with Scotland © Getty Images

As expected, the introduction of southern hemisphere referees into this year's Six Nations mix has caused more than a few ripples with their interpretation of the tackle law a point of confusion but instead of pointing the finger at the officials themselves the blame should be heaped on the International Rugby Board for making a pig's ear of their latest attempt to improve the game as a spectacle.

The lack of a global calendar is always going to cause problems when changes are made to how the game is played - a fact that has been underlined by the IRB's edict regarding Law 15.6.c that demanded referees apply all of the law regarding to the tackle.

The decision to put a stronger emphasis on all the law regarding to the tackle (in effect make sure a tackler releases the ball-carrier when he goes to ground before re-engaging effect) was taken at the referees conference in November last year and stressed again in February according to Paddy O'Brien, the IRB's referees manager but the message obviously did not get through to all parties.

SANZAR embraced the directive, that was issued during their off-season, and all the participating sides and officials were therefore singing from the same hymn sheet when the Super 14 kicked off in February. The problem for the northern hemisphere is that the ruling came midway through the European season when such a change in emphasis would not be so straightforward and any tinkering would be met with criticism from all sides.

As a result there was a problem looming long before the Six Nations kicked off last month and this was magnified when the southern hemisphere officials were despatched north with O'Brien urging them to apply the directive when handling the high profile Championship clashes - despite the fact that they would not be entering the equation until round three of the competition.

The likes of Jonathan Kaplan, Marius Jonker, Mark Lawrence and Craig Joubert did as they were told and as a result you can understand the anger and confusion of those coaches and players forced to accept different interpretations from one week to the next. The Six Nations is arguably the most high-profile rugby event outside of the Rugby World Cup and toying with such an imortant event was a mistake. Officals should be grateful that their mis-management has not resulted in an even bigger disaster.

The Irish Times went so far as to say it the issue had "landed like a grenade" in the middle of the Six Nations and although a little dramatic you can understand the sentiment. It should never have got to this point and the IRB must shoulder the blame for such a half-hearted attempt to inject life into the game no matter how sound their original intention.

A breakdown in comunication? Maybe. But still not acceptable. The IRB should have briefed the coaches before the start of the Championship and not weeks into the battle for the northern hemisphere crown. The referees were reportedly contacted on the eve of the Championship for the purposes of clarifying the ruling but the message obviously did not hit home judging by the apparent differences in interpretation. And it would probably help if the media were kept informed on such matters to help the wider rugby public keep across any changes.

Europe's leading unions should have also seen this coming - especially the RFU given their previous concern over the tackle area. If the RFU and their rivals were in the loop as of November last year they should have acted accordingly to prevent the issue blighting the Six Nations. They will be better served by embracing the changes as they will be in play between now and Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand.

Law 15: Tackle – ball carrier brought to ground.

15.6.c: Players in opposition to the ball carrier who remain on their feet who bring the ball carrier to ground so that the player is tackled must release the ball and the ball carrier. Those players may then play the ball providing they are on their feet and do so from behind the ball and from directly behind the tackled player or a tackler closest to those players’ goal line.

Sanction: Penalty kick.