Writing in The Times, Mark Souster talks to referee Luke Pearce - one of the new stars of refereeing who is turning heads.
"Pearce is an accomplished, erudite, remarkably mature and measured young man, who is full of confidence and who caught the eye of the power brokers at the RFU at an early stage. He sprang to prominence this season when he awarded three penalty tries to Moseley, the last in stoppage time to give them a 28-25 victory away to Coventry, their arch rivals. It caused a storm of protest. Home fans incensed by his decisions verbally abused him. Beer was allegedly thrown.
"Like Barnes after the 2007 World Cup quarter-final — the Englishman was vilified in New Zealand for failing to spot a forward pass that led to France’s decisive try — Pearce took it in his stride and pledged to learn from any unintentional mistakes."
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