Week two of a new season and Paul Ackford of the Sunday Telegraph claims that there is already there is disquiet over the standard of officiating.
"Last week Ed Morrison, the Rugby Football Union's Head of Elite Referee Development, had the good grace to admit that a decision by Andrew Small to show a yellow card to Alex Goode when London Irish clashed with Saracens - a decision Saracens' director of rugby Brendan Venter believed cost his side the match - was "wrong".
"Two hundred-odd miles from Twickenham, in the fixture at Sandy Park between Exeter and Gloucester, there were at least three forward passes in the opening 10 minutes which were all missed by referee Rob Debney and his two mates.
"Small beer? Not at all. If these were isolated errors then no worries, but the Tri-Nations has also thrown up a number of occasions where officials have come in for criticism. Early on in that competition All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith expressed doubts over whether referees were fit enough for the modern game, repeating a misgiving he raised a year ago when he wondered whether two referees should control Test matches.''
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