Honiss under siege as 'worst' ref

By TONY SMITH in Marseille - Fairfax Media | Tuesday, 11 September 2007

New Zealand referee Paul Honiss has taken a hammering from the international press and Samoan officials for some key calls in Samoa's loss to South Africa. His performance was rated the "worst in World Cup history".

Samoan coach Michael Jones said he did not want to make the refereeing an excuse for the 59-7 defeat on Sunday. But he called on referees to be consistent and even-handed.

"We're not dumb. We know how to play this game. I'd like to think they (the referees) are looking at the teams through the same lenses. Everyone's accountable because there's so much at stake here. All we ask for is consistency."

Jones, the former All Black superstar, said referees were "paid enough and trained enough to get it right 95 per cent of the time".

"When it comes to the World Cup they have to get it right, especially for little nations like us."

Samoan captain Semo Sititi was even more scathing after the match, saying he was very disappointed with Honiss' rulings and that he had told him "there are two teams out here playing, not one".

"Always these decisions go against us, and they have an effect."

However, Springboks skipper John Smit had no qualms with Honiss.

"That was one of his best games," the Sharks hooker said.

Honiss was under fire in the international media for refusing to award Samoa a second-half try to Joe Tekori, ruling he was off-side at a ruck.

There was also an outcry when he failed to sin-bin Springbok flanker Schalk Burger for taking Samoa's Junior Polu out in mid-air.

New Zealand video referee Bryce Lawrence was also criticised for awarding a dubious try to Bryan Habana – one of four the Springbok wing scored.

Some international journalists also believed play should have been over before Percy Montgomery scored to give South Africa a 21-7 lead at half-time.

Leading English rugby writer Chris Hewett implied Honiss' refereeing display was the worst in World Cup history.

The New Zealander's performance "plumbed depths previously unvisited by officials at a World Cup, including his good self. And he has a fair bit of history in this regad, does Honiss," Hewett wrote in London's Independent.

Both Hewett and Guardian writer Paul Rees said the Argentinians had only just stopped complaining about Honiss' rulings on their scrummaging in the 2003 World Cup opener against Australia.

"It is hard enough for the developing nations, hampered as they are by a lack of finance and an inadequate competitive playing programme, to keep pace with the leading teams without referees such as the New Zealander Paul Honiss to further widen the divide with uneven decision-making," Rees wrote