England greats call for ‘more referees should take a harder line’ after seeing Matthew Carley’s ‘blind to him’ performance in Greatest Rivalry
Ex-England players Dan Cole and Ben Youngs, inset, have run the rule over referee Matthew Carley's display in South Africa
England greats Ben Youngs and Dan Cole have given a glowing review of referee Matthew Carley’s performance in last weekend’s Greatest Rivalry opener between South Africa and New Zealand.
The 41-year-old English official came under the spotlight with his appointment for the Test series opener in Johannesburg, with pressure heaped on in the build-up following grievances voiced in the media by the Springboks about how the All Blacks played in the warm-up matches against the South African franchises.
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus shared a media briefing with ex-referee Jaco Peyper on Monday of last week, and the narrative surrounding the level of refereeing was further fuelled by what assistant coach Felix Jones had to say when he fronted the media the following day.
This commentary ensured there would be a huge focus on Carley’s performance at Ellis Park, and so good was the official in the eyes of two retired England players that they have now made him their favourite to referee the final of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia – provided Steve Borthwick’s team doesn’t qualify for the showpiece decider.
“The best reffed game of rugby I’d seen in dog’s age…”
After reviewing the outcome of the first Test in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry in favour of the All Blacks on a 33-16 scoreline, ex-England prop Cole read out an email received by the For The Love Of Rugby show from a viewer in Carlisle who claimed: “That was probably the best reffed game of rugby I’d seen in dog’s age under all the pressure from Rassie and the world’s press. It was a truly world-class reffing display.”
Youngs, the record England men’s caps holder, replied: “I agree. I thought it was. There will still be so many people that go, no, and there was the tackle area and people not rolling away and the breakdown and all that.
“But at the end of the day, he [Carley] is consistent in the way he saw it, and I really respect Matt Carley in the way that he just doesn’t rely heavily on (TMO); he makes a decision.
“Of course, TMO gets a little bit involved and everything like that, but even the shot Ardie Savea does on Jasper (Wiese), the TMO comes in, he’s looking at it, looks at it and he goes, no. Do you know what? I’ve seen it; it’s sort of shoulder, it rides up, it’s got nothing in it.
“I like how he just backs himself, and there’s something to be said for that when you’re actually in the game. Some fans maybe get frustrated, but actually when you’re in it as a player you prefer that. You prefer the don’t talk to me, that’s the decision, go away and everyone knows the crack then.”
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Cole was also effusive in his praise about how Carley behaved like he was his own man in Johannesburg. “You saw in the Bledisloe Cup (last year), Will Skelton tries to start a fight two minutes in. He blew it up, penalised him, so he’s not having that today.
“You saw in the Leicester derby (last May) with Northampton, (Henry) Pollock came on, started jumping around and he’s like, no, not today, you’ll go in the bin if you do it again. He just takes no nonsense.
“Codie Taylor picks up the ball; he’s not giving back to the South Africans. He’s like, ‘Right, march back 10. I’m not bothered’. And there are other bits in the game where the pressure from outside was blind to him. Other referees think it might influence. For him, it didn’t.
“You saw his time with the TMO. Credit to him. The TMO came in several times and he just overruled him. Said, ‘No, I think that’s fair. That’s fair. I’m going to play my on-field decision. I’m going to go with it’.
“There are other times when the ball gets slapped back over the goal line by (Damian) Willemse; he took his time, he did the right thing, got the TMO, let’s get the decision right. It’s a massive point in the game; let’s get the decision right.
“Similar with the yellow cards. Let’s get the decision right and we’ll go from there. I thought that’s how you referee a game. Yes, the game was stop-start, but we didn’t spend seven hours with a referee going, ‘Oh, that hit by Savea, was it on the shoulder, does it ride up, is it level, what is it?’
“He goes, basically, it’s on the shoulder, it rides up, I’m sticking to my decision. We’re moving on. It’s explained and it’s moved on. You can’t complain. And I thought he was outstanding.
“More referees should take a harder line like Matt Carley does, whether it’s dissent or the breakdown, and just be firm with your actions early doors and then the game, the rest of the game takes care of itself. Credit to him. I thought he was brilliant.”
So enthused was Youngs by what he saw from Carley that he fast-forwarded to next year’s World Cup in Australia. “Matt Carley, I’ve said this before actually, in my opinion he is the best ref in the world, could get the World Cup final in just over a year.
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“I honestly think he is. He’s thorough. He backs himself and he cracks on. He’s consistent with what he sees, and I like it.”
Having refereed last Saturday’s opening Test, the refereeing baton now passes from Carley to Australia’s Angus Gardner for this weekend’s Greatest Rivalry second Test as Georgian Nika Amashukeli hasn’t recovered from illness.
Amashukeli will instead take charge for the third encounter in Johannesburg with England’s Karl Dickson pencilled in for the September 12 series-finale in the United States of America. That final match will see Carley back involved as an assistant referee.
READ MORE: Comment: Rassie Erasmus rarely makes the same mistake twice and the All Blacks will know that