Paddy O'Brien, the under-fire IRB elite referee’s manager, has defended the controversial edict regarding Law 15.6.c which has landed like a grenade in the middle of the Six Nations, according to Gerry Thornley in the Irish Times.
"I think there has been some confusion; (but) there definitely hasn’t been a law change. It was agreed at the referees’ conference in November to put emphasis on all the law at the tackle, and that’s what we’ve done,” said O’Brien.
"The New Zealander seemed to be laying the blame at the doors of some of his counterparts within the relevant unions, though he never mentioned the IRFU’s Owen Doyle by name.
“I’m not going to hide behind the fact there has been some dissatisfaction within some teams,” he added, “but it’s fair to say our line is right from November last year that we want referees to apply the law. My role as referees manager is to ensure the referees do. Some haven’t, and they’ll be reviewed accordingly. Some have, and they will be reviewed accordingly.”
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