Monday Morning Rugby Debate – Referees – by Ben Cross

Referees also have an impact on the length of time that the ball is in play.  Scrum time is often what puts the interested observer off watching a game of Rugby Union.  The laws are complicated and despite the introduction of crouch, touch, pause, engage, scrums are still prone to collapse with either a reset, a penalty or a free kick for delaying the put in.  The length of time the ball is in play is crucial to points betting and also to the number of penalties sides give away at the scrum.  High penalty counts against a side break up any kind of forward momentum and also allow the opposition to keep the scoreboard ticking over.  The best referees are the ones who you wouldn’t necessarily be able to name after a match, have made no contentious decisions, and used cards as a last resort. Keeping a good database of a referee’s penalties awarded and cards brandished is crucial when looking to get involved in matches on over/under and handicap betting.  In the words of Benjamin Franklin,”By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”  Odds compilers will have extensive databases at their disposal covering all manner of information so any small advantage we can find must be taken. [caption id="attachment_1677" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="To see Bens selections and results, click on the photo."][/caption]  ]]>