IRB affirms Big Five

At a recent in Johannesburg just before the Soweto Test meeting of the IRB match official selection committee affirmed its commitment to the “Big Five”, aspects of the Laws of the Game it seems as priorities in need of application by referees.

Those at the meeting were John Jeffrey (Chairman), Tappe Henning and Lyndon Bray (both SANZAR), Donal Courtney and Clayton Thomas (both Six Nations) and Joël Jutge (the IRB's new referee manager).

The Big Five

* All aspects of the tackle with particular emphasis to be placed on the tackler releasing the tackled player and rolling away and arriving players staying on their feet.

* Offside at the breakdown.

* Offside from kicks.

* All aspects of the scrum, particularly the engagement process and front-row binding.

* All aspects of the maul, particularly what constitutes legal maul defences.