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HomeSourcesmirror.co.ukEx-England coaches call for changes in Rugby World Cup officiating

Ex-England coaches call for changes in Rugby World Cup officiating

Sir Clive Woodward and Eddie Jones have delivered their verdicts on officiating at the Rugby World Cup after a conscientious first week at the tournament in France

Sir Clive Woodward believes that referees should take more accountability and provide transparency over decisions after Eddie Jones claimed world rugby is becoming “too powerful”.

Woodward, 67, lamented the inconsistency in the decision-making over head contact and admitted that the officials have not had a good Rugby World Cup so far. England flanker Tom Curry, Romain Taofifenua Jesse Kriel and Martin Sigren have all been high tackles or head contacts – but there has been different punishments.

To understand how the referees got to their conclusion, Woodward thinks the officials should be able to speak the media and that would add some “much-needed transparency”. The ex-England centre, meanwhile, is hoping that the focus surrounding the referees will decrease as time goes on.

Woodward told the Daily Mail: “Referees have a tough job and we all make mistakes. But what I’d like to see is more accountability and the people who make the decisions on the field – as well as those in disciplinary panels off it – front up and explain why they have made them.

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