Our Referees Are Again Getting A Raw Deal From The Dublin Mafia

WITH NO 6 Nations games this weekend, the Guinness PRO14 takes centre stage, with Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors both in Italy, facing Benetton and Zebre respectively. A full PRO14 programme means 28 match officials will be required – seven referees, seven TMOs and 14 Assistant referees – to be drawn from the officials pool, operated by the five Unions involved in the league.

IF there was any degree of fairness about the league, each member nation would have a minimum of five officials rostered for the games. But, as we all know, the PRO14 doesn't do fairness when it comes to match officials. You can be as poor an official as John Lacey or George Clancy, but, if you're Irish, you have a lot more chance of being rostered for a PRO14 game than if you were, say Scottish.

Mike Adamson, the only Scot to be refereeing a PRO14 game this weekend

That fact of life, of how the league is run to suit the Dublin Murphyia is all-too obvious when you look at this weekend's officials roster.

The breakdown of the 28 officials on-duty shows:

• 11 – 3 referees; 5 assistant referees and 3 TMOs are IRISH
  
  
• 8 – 1 referee (Nigel Owens); 5 assistant referees and 2 TMOs are WELSH
  
  
• 6 – 1 referee; 3 assistant referees and 2 TMOs are ITALIAN
  
  
• 2 – referee Mike Adamson and assistant referee David Sutherland are SCOTTISH
  
  
• 1 – referee Stuart Berry, is South African.

Given both South African teams are in Europe this weekend, the lack of South African officials in the officiating teams is hardly surprising. But, the bias in favour of Irish (in particular) and Welsh officials is marked.

And, I absolutely refuse to see why there should be six Italian officials on the roster and only two Scottish ones. This seems to me to be an obvious anti-Scottish bias at work.

Certainly our representatives, Messrs Adamson and Sutherland are on-duty in what is probably the pick of the weekend fixtures, the meeting of Scarlets and Munster in Llanelli, but, you cannot but feel, Scottish officials are not getting a fair crack of the whip.

To me, it really is long past time our representatives on the PRO14 board were kicking arse and agitating for a greater Scottish representation in matches.

The bad news for Edinburgh is, George Clancy has the whistle in their match with Benetton, while Glasgow also have an Irish whistler in Andrew Brace. Also, excellent official though she is, it grates a wee bit that Ireland's Joy Neville has charge of Cardiff v Southern Kings, while excellent Scottish officials such as Lloyd Linton, Keith Allen or Ben Blain are not rostered.

Come on SRU – time to stand-up and fight for our officials.

ON THE basis, you get what you pay for, why should anyone with the remotest interest in rugby bother checking-out the free Guardian or Scotsman websites for their rugby news. Better perhaps to subscribe to those sites with a pay wall – The Telegraph, (for the wit and wisdom of Brian Moore); The Times, (which in Scotland means the excellent Mark Palmer or Alasdair Reid) or The Herald (for the erudition of Kevin Ferrie). Aye well, two out of three aint bad, as they say.

But, to be fair, the Guardian, which is obsessed by England and Eddie Jones did come up with rather a good piece yesterday, when Andy Bull, perhaps the least-annoying of their rugby writers, penned a piece about rugby's Doomsday Scenario.

This is the situation when, the guys you would least like to lose from your starting XV get injured. Bull referenced how the All Blacks made light of losing Dan Carter, his deputy – Colin Slade and third-choice first five-eighth Aaron Cruden, only to pluck Stephen Donald from a fishing trip to still win the 2011 World Cup. The fact skipper Richie McCaw broke his foot in the final, but played-on, was perhaps taking collateral damage to extreme lengths, and still winning.

 Fourth-choice Stephen Donald kicks the winning penalty in the 2011 World Cup final

There's inspiration for Duncan Weir

I suppose, in Scottish terms – and you need never fear seeing Scotland referenced in Guardian rugby pieces – that would be like us losing, at the same time: Stuart Hogg, Finn Russell, John Barclay and Hamish Watson.

If we can learn from such a calamity, who knows, we might just be able to win the World Cup later this year. We are, after all, living through the Doomsday Scenario right now.

THE FALLOW international week in the 6 Nations, and with the two professional sides off to Italy in the PRO14, the rugby landscape in Scotland is free for the Tennent's Premiership clubs to strut their stuff in what will be the final round of regular-season games in its history, this weekend.

I have long wondered about the SRU's commitment to the top tier of the club game; it is the basic fare for most of the season, but, is allowed to peter out early in the year, leaving it almost impossible to summon-up enthusiasm for what many feel is the unnecessary add-on of the play-off semi-finals and final.

Regardless of how things pan out on Saturday, where they are away to fifth-placed Watsonians, Ayr will finish top of the heap, by anywhere between three and eight points, depending on the final games results. This, of course, wins them nothing – they will still have to navigate the two play-off games, for both of which they will have home advantage, to be crowned champions.

Ayr have failed to do this in the pas. But, they have also gone to the home of the favourites in the Grand Final and won, so, anything is possible.

The big question from Saturday's games is, what will be the final order in positions two, three and four?

These are currently occupied by Currie Chieftains, who host improving Edinburgh Academical in their last game, Heriot's, who travel to Mansfield Park to face Hawick, and Melrose, who visit Boroughmuir. Currie are on 63 points, one ahead of Heriot's and two ahead of Melrose.

I honestly don't know what will happen, other than, the mobile phone networks will be buzzing, as the fans and officials try to keep abreast of events in what will surely be an exciting day.