Owen Doyle, former IRFU referees boss and ex-Test referee, has written a sharp critique of two trends he believes are quietly corroding the game. On the lineout trial, he's unequivocal: the January 2025 decision to play on through crooked throws in uncontested lineouts has been an "abject failure." Rather than encouraging competition for possession, it's simply given teams with big forward packs a licence to flood the lineout early and set up an unstoppable maul — a clear breach of the law that refs are choosing to ignore. Doyle wants World Rugby's June meeting to scrap the trial entirely before the lineout goes the way of the scrum as a genuine contest.
His second target is referee-player communication. Using Andrew Brace's handling of the Ulster-Leinster derby as a case study, Doyle argues that the culture of first-name familiarity and repeated warnings without sanction has neutered referees' ability to manage dissent. He traces the habit back to English Premiership officials and says it's spread without justification — faux friendliness that players exploit rather than reciprocate. The piece is a useful read for anyone frustrated by how lineout laws are being applied this season, and by the growing sense that officials have lost the authority to back up their words.