Post your questions to legendary referee, Jonathan Kaplan!

[Josh1]

Great news everyone. We've managed to secure a Q&A session with Jonathan Kaplan – the former international rugby union referee.

Kaplan (as he tends to be referred to!) actually holds the record for the most international matches as referee.

Please submit your questions for Kaplan to this thread. We will then pick our choice of the top 10 most interesting questions and the resulting interview will be posted back on the forum as well as shared on Twitter, FB, etc.

To keep things reasonable, we're going to limit everyone to submitting a maximum of 2 questions each. If you change your mind on your questions, please click the "Edit" link at the bottom right to change them (rather than submitting it as a new post.) We'll accept suggestions up until midnight GMT on December 2nd. Please note that our decision on which questions will be put forward is final, apologies in advance if we don't pick yours.

Please help raise awareness of this interview, and TRF, by clicking one of the sharing options below this post.

 

[TRF_Fullback]

My question would be: Do you feel that referees these days consult the TMO too often for video reviews?

 

[Draggs]

Great work guys!

We often see referees criticized after matches; should they be held more accountable for mistakes in matches, and what can be done to reduce these errors? (I guess this is two questions merged, so reword it as needed)

 

[Big Ewis]

ooh, okay okay - Do you ever catch yourself checking out some of the players, always being around so much sheer masculinity ?
It's not a great question, because he'll answer 'no' even if he does indeed, but...

 

[Groundhog]

Very good job securing the interview lads, top work.
What would you feel are the areas of the game these days, in which most referees have the least confidence interpreting?
What is, do you feel the single most entertaining game of rugby which you personally have refereed?

 

[Rugga-lad]

Hi Jonathan,
Do you think referees could help teams/clubs more to adhere to the rules more often and thus curbing indiscipline ? By visiting them in training and helping out ?
Thanks for reading.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

what one match do you wish you could have reffed that you didn't?
what is the funniest thing you have seen or heard on the pitch?

 

[Rugga-lad]

congrats on getting the interview guys!
Kudos

 

[psychic duck]

The refereeing of the scrum is regularly abysmal, and gets away with scrutiny with few commentators/pundits who actually try and explain it at all. We see referees are continually giving penalties on reputation and particularly based on which scrum is going forward. Are referees actually aware that sometimes (actually quite a fair bit) the scrum going forward is the illegal one?

To what extent is backstage politics between Unions involved in the make up of the elite referees list? For instance I'm assuming the influential major Unions have a big say. If the major Unions or big teams carry clout in terms of the refereeing panel, surely that leads to some referees mindful of the pressure of giving a potentially controversial decision against them, particularly when the opponent might be a lesser influential Union and one that is considered the underdog.

 

[Amiga500]

Kaplan (as he tends to be referred to!)

oh...

I thought it was "f__k me Kaplan, are those eyes painted on?"... :lol:


More seriously, would having a specialist scrum official (that only referees the scrums) help matters?

 

[j'nuh]

Is refereeing made more difficult by the speed with which the game changes and how are top referees prepared to deal with this?

What can a referee do when a scrum repeatedly collapses and the referee doesn't know who is at fault?

 

[Perthshire]

Question for JK

what would you say was your biggest achievement in the game & Why??????

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

My question:

We regularly see ex-players join commentary teams after they finish their playing careers. Do you think it would be beneficial to see ex-referees do the same, and why is it that we don't see this already?

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Kudos on getting the interview.

1. What law or laws of the game would you change to make refereeing easier?
2. Both players and referees make mistakes on the pitch. When you're aware that you've made an error, do you block it out of your mind immediately or does it prey on your mind for the entire game?

 

[munstermuffin]

Does a refs mindset change when in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres?

 

[Jaguares]

1- What changes would do you about the scrum? To improve it

2- Who was the most dominant tight head prop that you have arbitrated?

 

[Shaggy]

What, if any changes would you like to see in the use of television replays? How would you implement those changes?

 

[LittleGuy]

How important/intense is the physical preparation and conditioning needed to become a high level referee?

Is the travel schedule for international and even domestic referee's too hectic, or does the officiating body as a whole enjoy the travelling?

 

[TRF_heineken]

Great Job Guys!!

My Questions are:

1. Does international referees way of officiating change depending on the teams? As in, will refs focus more at certain areas like the breakdown where a team like NZ try to dominate.

2. Is it a worrying concern to see the quality of the refereeing at international standard just before the World Cup?

 

[tituslechmakus]

1. What did you think of Joubert performance in the 2011 final ?

2. Do you think it could be helpful to have more than 1 ref on the pitch, specially one on each side of scrums, in order to see who is collapsing ?