The Whistleblower

Referee Andrea Piardi had a brilliant game in the URC final, despite the comments of Bulls coach

The URC has a problem on its hands when it comes to appointing match officials

A new generation of referees is emerging for this URC, a competition which has grown immensely in stature and now heads towards the semi-finals and grand final

A worrying cohort of referees appear dependent on their TMO comfort blanket

Owen Doyle: Antoine Dupont makes the crucial difference for Toulouse but for Leinster losing three consecutive Champions Cup finals is the stuff of sporting nightmares

Our refereeing expert Owen Doyle answers readers’ questions on warnings, complicit officials and breakdown etiquette

Owen Doyle: World Rugby proposals remain a work in progress but still not strong enough to discourage serious foul play

Send in your question to our columnist, former Test referee and former director of referees at the IRFU, Owen Doyle

French referee’s Mathieu Raynal's clear officiating at the scrum in Croke Park an example which others would do well to follow

The ugly side of rugby has not gone away, and the deterrent of a straight red card should not be diluted

Referee Karl Dickson was very much centre stage but there was no disputing Leinster’s superiority against La Rochelle this time around

Brousset was reactive and overly patient instead of delivering a clear plan to increase the level of sanction in Leinster-Leicester match

The people who said Leinster’s Luke McGrath should not been sent off against Bulls were wrong

A fundamental need exists for World Rugby to rid the game of danger

We need to know exactly why Ireland’s Tadgh Furlong was denied a try against Scotland

A pair of action-packed encounters at Twickenham and the Stadio Olimpico showed two very different approaches to refereeing

But it’s generally good we’re hearing less chatter from referees

Surely, these very tight situations should be treated in the same way as a penalty try, on the basis of probability

Owen Doyle: If seriously endangering a prone player’s head via a reckless boot is not a red card then rugby’s future is grim

Finlay Bealham and Tom Ahern were injured by ‘reckless’ actions which saw culprits deservedly sent off

Georgian Nika Amashukeli showed once again in Munster's win over Toulon that he is now established in the top quartile of elite rugby referees

Connacht wing being shown the wrong colour card is the latest evidence that officials have become too lax at the breakdown

French TMO Cédric Marchat shouldn’t have asked to check Slade’s onside position, but rather that of the lazy runners - he did not

English referee frustrated by frequent remonstrations from Leinster and La Rochelle players

It’s small price to pay for putting these vital red card calls back in the hands of the referee

The scrum has moved far from its original purpose and has become, too often, a penalty-generating machine

Many players now play about a 60-minute version of the sport, to be replaced by equally huge men who play even less

Rugby World Cup: Exemplary sentences required to rid the game of dangerous hits that are still prevalent

The flawed foul play system has had just limited trials, but is now making big decisions in Rugby World Cup matches

Rugby World Cup: There was a clear lack of consistency from referees in the application of the game’s laws in the opening series of games

Good functioning lineout key to Ireland’s success and sharp practice will require a high level of match official awareness

South African pack deployed for half the match and slammed the All Blacks, who looked battered and bewildered by full-time

‘Everything in professional rugby is about performance, and that must include the post-match arbiters’

At the World Cup, Foul Play Review Officers, not referees, will decide whether or not dangerous foul play yellow cards should be upgraded to red

If the Ireland captain received just a three match ban, what level of misconduct would earn a stiffer sentence?

Andrea Piardi made some curious decisions but his officiating did not determine the result, which was admirable enough to match anything Munster have achieved down the years

Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster will have plenty of legitimate questions, but the final inquest will focus on off-field affairs

Individual Unions are responsible for developing match officials and some are more interested than others

Outline includes nothing about how violent head collisions might be avoided during tournament

An incident in Australia suggested the new red card protocol will not take off if it leads to referees ignoring a key option