Ireland have no concerns on referee Poite
Friday, 5 February 2010 08:09
Ireland are keen to 'work with' referee Romain Poite when he takes charge of Ireland's RBS 6 Nations opener against Italy according to assistant coaches Alan Gaffney and Les Kiss.
Poite's appointment is considered a tricky one for Ireland for two reasons after the Frenchman was seen to heavily penalise the attacking team for rucking offences during Leinster's surprise defeat to London Irish in Heineken Cup Round One.
He is also relentless when it comes to penalising scrums that come under pressure and will give multiple calls against the weaker scrum.
Fortunately for Ireland, Poite appeared to have softened his approach to the breakdown in recent Top 14 and Heineken Cup matches. The Irish scrum, however, could come under pressure against Italy and can expect no help from Poite's quarter if it does.
Munster certainly found Poite a difficult referee to 'manage' at scrum time and around the park during their narrow Heineken Cup Round Six victory over Northampton two weeks' ago. The men in red struggled to cope, bar one remarkable heel against the head by a seven man scrum on their own line that effectively won them the match.
The yellow card given to Munster captain Paul O'Connell, who struggled to establish a rapport with the referee, for a turnover attempt close to his own tryline will also have been noted.
So, a tricky referee for Ireland? Not according to backs coach Alan Gaffney. He told RTÉ Sport's Michael Corcoran: 'We feel he is a very good referee. Perhaps it's an interpretation of a few minor issues (that can cause difficulties); they can blow up to bigger issues.
'However we don't think there is much of a problem there, we think he is a very, very good referee and we want to work with him.'
Ireland defence coach Les Kiss echoed Gaffney's remarks.
He said: 'We need to make sure we're disciplined. We're very strong about doing what we can......that doesn't get us on the wrong side of the referee as much as possible. (We have) no real concern about the referee.
'It's just about understanding how we're seeing the game at the time and being able to adapt and adjust to those things.'
