Unconscious on the pitch...

Two weeks into the new league season and I've two league games under my 2009-10 belt, with, it's fair to say, differing degrees of success in one very important area of the game.

The tackle-to-ruck phase has this season presented a challenge with the new directive from the powers on high (see previous blog).
My first match went reasonably OK in this area and last weekend I ventured "op north" on the Friday evening fairly confident ahead of my game on Saturday.

The Wirrall provided me with a good day at the office when I last visited the area in 2007, but it would be fair to say last weekend my report, if I were at school, would read "must try harder".

I've come to conclusion that if the first 10 minutes of a match go swimmingly, you've hardly had to breath a word and there's yet to be a scrum, then prepare yourself for what is to come...

OK, so that may be a little harsh, but in truth I got caught out in the second quarter and my penalty count (look skyward) reflected inadequate management of the tackle/ruck.
The pressure came on and where as last season I was almost refereeing this phase in the... *warning - management speak alert*... unconscious competence state, last weekend - for 20 minutes anyway - I was consciously incompetent.

But, what was pleasing was the mental and giant kick-up-the-arse I gave myself - with the help of two excellent ARs it must be said - and pulled through to finish off a second half that although by no means perfect, was better than the first.

And so the DVD review, sometimes a tortuous endeavour when it's not gone as well as you would have liked, and putting right the wrongs from last weekend. Self-reflection is something most referees would have spent endless hours doing - and I've done plenty of that since last Saturday.

This weekend sees another trip up the M6 to cover Sale v Bath on Friday and then a game in Gloucester on Saturday - the perfect opportunity to work on the breakdown as, let's face it, no side hailing from Gloucester is going to make life easy for a referee in that department.

Here's hoping Bath win at Edgley Park and I become somewhere nearer to "unconscious competence". Match observers beware...