Referees share their knowledge

By Vatapuia Maiava 17 February 2016, 12:00AM

The guest referees for the Vailima Marist Sevens this weekend, Matthew O’Brien and Anthony Moyes hosted a clinic yesterday to share their knowledge and experiences with local coaches and referees.

The clinic took place at the A.C.P Marist Samoa Clubhouse.

Tournament organizer, Seumanu Douglas Ngau Chun, said it was a great opportunity for local officials to learn from two of the best in the business.

The officials shared a presentation titled “Where most consistency is needed” in the area of refereeing.

“The aim was to get as many of the coaches from the Marist tournament and any of the local referees to come along so that Matthew O’Brien and I could present the World Rugby technical and educational video,” Mr. Moyes said

The video showed past footage of rugby 7’s matches highlighting different key points.

“It’s good when there’s footage because it will make it much easier to explain the examples. The video takes us through all the different phases of the game such as tackles, mauls, off-sides, foul play and so on.”

Every main point was illustrated with 2 – 3 clips followed by a description of what is expected.

After each topic, the locals were given a chance to ask questions. Those who took part in the clinic got the chance to see and learn first-hand how international Sevens tournaments are refereed.

Mr. Moyes said there are no tricks or shortcuts.

“With Sevens refereeing, the simpler you keep it the better. So there aren’t any tricks as such. It’s more along the lines of how we referees can keep it simple so that we can be accurate and the teams playing can understand our calls better.” Mr. Moyes also spoke about the importance of having coaches to understand the laws.

 “It’s nice to see the coaches taking part in this clinic,” Mr Moyes said “We find that the coaches who come and talk to the refs to find out how we ref the game often have the most disciplined teams so we like to do these sort of things.”

An important lesson taught was that the safety of the players.

“Safety of the players is the most important thing; you can’t stop and think ‘uhmmm maybe the case is different’ everything above the shoulders no matter the situation is a high tackle,” he said.

The clinic was a part of the countdown to the Sevens tournament this weekend.

All the teams will take part in today’s opening parade on Beach Road, scheduled at 8.45am.

 

By Vatapuia Maiava 17 February 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>