The referee is the sole judge of fact and of law during a match. It is the first tenet of rugby law and rightly so; without a referee you have no game. It can be a difficult job, made harder by the ubiquity of TV cameras and social media whereby everyone believes themselves a competent and disinterested arbiter.

This used to be an accepted concept in most sports, but the slide towards focusing on all things official came with the introduction of Sky TV’s football coverage, and scrutiny of officials took the American route. They have now become the centre of every game, during and afterwards. It is much easier and more convenient for managers, players, supporters and the media to blame officials...