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The Times & The Sunday Times
The Times & The Sunday Times
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Scotland the brave

Is the referee right even when he is wrong? That maxim was sorely tested in one of the World Cup quarter final matches
The Times
The Times

Sir, Some 30 years ago the Scottish Rugby Union, supporting match officials after several instances of spectators abusing referees at club matches, dispatched a memo to member clubs. It included the memorable phrase: “The referee is always right, even when he is wrong.”

I wonder, after Sunday’s World Cup quarter-final at Twickenham, whether they would do the same today.

David Hands

Rugby correspondent for The Times 1982-2010, Fordingbridge, Hants

Sir, A simple remedy to the laws of rugby would be to give each captain the right to call for the television match official once in each half. This would have ensured Scotland’s victory against Australia. It would also have stopped the referee breaking the world record in fleeing from the pitch at the end of the game.

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Derek Wyatt

Former MP and England rugby international, London SW1