The man with the whistle is an integral part of the game of rugby. Remember, rugby does not have rules: it has laws. Those laws are constantly evolving and changing, and referees have to keep up with that, stay in top physical shape and be able to control a match without deciding the outcome. There are legendary referees, just like there are legendary players. A few of the greats are listed below (if we have missed someone, let us know):

Derek Bevan (Wales)

Clive Norling (Wales)

Stuart Dickinson (Australia)

Paddy O’Brien (New Zealand)

Kerry Fitzgerald (Australia)

Ed Morrison (England)

Andre Watson (South Africa)

David McHugh (Ireland)

Law 6.A.4 (a) The Referee is the sole judge of fact and of Law during a match. The Referee must apply fairly all the Laws of the Game in every match.

Law 6.A.5  All players must respect the authority of the referee. They must not dispute the referee’s decisions. They must stop playing at once when the referee blows the whistle except at a kick off. Penalty: Penalty Kick at the place of infringement or where play would next commence.

I can speak from experience as a referee of about a dozen years now, that rugby is the only game where abuse of the referee really isn’t tolerated. The Laws of the Game are always evolving, and the pace of the Game just keeps increasing, and that makes refereeing a match very demanding. Sometimes things go off track, but most of the time it all ends well. This video clip shows just how far off track things can get. I can sympathize with each of these refs: I have been there and done that too.