Ever wondered what Stuart Cummings does – apart from decide who refs which game every weekend and ignore calls from irate Super League head coaches?
It’s all become clear now. Nearly three weeks on from that Cardiff mess, and after “detailed analysis and consultations”, the match officials chief has stepped out of his ivory tower to enlighten us all about a major rule change.
From now on, when a penalty goal is being taken, all referees will position themselves at the side of the player taking the goal. This is to check if any chasers have encroached into offside positions.
Ingenious – and it’s only taken three weeks to work it out.
Cummings and his six full-time refs must have had their heads locked together around some table at Red Hall furiously getting to the bottom of this conundrum.
It’s like nuclear physics.
Unfortunately, deciding whether or not all “match-winning tries” are referred to the video ref is still being discussed. Apparently, that will take much more “consultation” yet and, given Cummings’ hectic schedule, it may be Millennium Tragic 2 before we hear his informed opinion on that matter.
After all, I hear he’s running a seminar for Messrs Klein, Ganson, Silverwood and co about how to find the correct pitch of their whistle.
And then there’s a lecture regarding suitable referees’ post-match attire; and memos to be written about hand-signal protocol.
There's not enough hours in the day.