I couldn't disagree more. If I watch some early summer rugby from 1996-2000 I see fast flowing rugby and a fair few penalties awarded because holding down is the same offence now as it was then. The difference is that most sides are so quick and skilled at getting up, facing forward and playing the ball that defences can't cope. The result is that referees are simply allowing the PTB to be slowed down to ridiculous levels so the defences can reset and get back the 10.



The reality is that a fit fast side is now being punished as a lesser side can take the michael and most of the time get away with it.



I say penalise where you need to regardless of the penalty count. It's not a referee's job to make a game flow or turn a blind eye or comply with RFL refereeing directives. He is meant to be there to officiate fairly and if he allows the rules to be broken at nearly every tackle by holding down then he is not doing his job. What he is doing is ruining the spectacle of fast open rugby and levelling the gap between two teams in terms of skill and fitness.



I'd rather see a match with a total penalty count of 30 with 12 tries scored than a game with 6 penalties in total and only four tries scored.



Otherwise we are going backwards and not forwards in our development.

Totally agree, referees are directly influencing the competition with their inability to penalise offences, mostly holding down. If they don't get a grip every team will continue to push their luck to the maximum and we'll end up with the lowest common denominator. Slow, awful rugby that is a war of attrition, bereft of skill and speed.

The messing around at the play of the ball is really taking the p"£$ now.



How many blatant forward passes where missed too



Shocking performance from the refs

Totally inept performance by Thaler, made terrible judgement calls all night and wasnt helped by his touch judges.



I can see him officiating NL1 next week.

When was the last time we saw a card for constant interference at the play the ball it's like the rules gone out the window.



Wigan's defence looked very good tonight but that was helped by Thaler's inability to keep them on-side and to stop both teams slowing the play-the-ball.



I'm not saying Saints were squeaky clean but as we had the majority of the possession in the first half it stood out that Wigan were never on-side.



His policing of the play the ball was very poor all night and it's as if the RFL just want the game to become a 'smash-athon' as the defending team always get extra time to get their defensive line set so it degrades to drive after drive.

no wonder justin morgan give him some stick.

at one point he even got the number of plays wrong getting the fifth and fourth tackles mixed up.

complete plonker.

Thats right, wasnt this the wish of the RFL after the world cup to slow our PTB down to bring it in to line with the NRL and create more of a wrestling type PTB, thus giving time for defence to be set and therefore force more skillful attack enableing us to compete at international level?

The play the ball was unbelievably slow.

He got the count wrong.

He missed one or two forward passes.



Wasnt his best night.

well of course you would as this style of refing doesn't play into saints hands!! Of course your gonna be pi$$ed off when the game isn't refed to work to saints advantage!! Saints are always looking for the penalty! all Thailer does is tell teams to shut up and get on with it!! I would much rather see a games that thailer refs as he isn't forever marching teams around the park!! I'm sick of refs like ganson, smith and bentham deciding who wins the arm wrestle with pen after pen!! It's killing the game!!

Its not very often I will bag a ref but last night took the pi$$.



The holding down at the play the ball was as bad as I've seen for a long time.

I think you are letting your hatred of Saints, blind your thinking or just plain trolling. Today's ref decided to not police holding down, and messing about at the play the ball. It is the opposite extreme to giving penalty after penalty. We want something in the middle.



If the referree's were consistent, then they would penalise when the players start taking the , and then the players would learn not to do it. We would have a fast flowing exciting fair game. Teams would have to learn how to slow the game down by skill rather than just holding down for longer or putting their hands in.

I don't hate saints!! I'm not a troll!!



How many unfair ball steals were there?? Not many!! I thought the ruck was pretty steady to say the conditions were very slippy! If you think you are gonna get a quick play the ball in that weather you are in dreamland pal!! Don't worry Leeds have ian smith tonight so we will be back to 20 odd pens so you will see the stop start crap game you crave!! You can breath easy once again