I have three tools at my disposal – my whistle, my body language and my talk.
ALAN LEWISI have three tools at my disposal – my whistle, my body language and my talk.
ALAN LEWISMy job is to persuade people to toe the line and play within the laws of the game.
ALAN LEWISBut then southern hemisphere teams are more skilful than their northern hemisphere counterparts, which means games can be easier to referee.
ALAN LEWISThe objective of a referee is not to get mentioned. I tell a lot of young referees that not being mentioned is king.
ALAN LEWISIt is a question of sometimes choosing what is – in your own mind – of material importance and what isn’t, what might be a crucial potential penalty and what might not be.
ALAN LEWISCoaches will do what they can but it doesn’t necessarily bother me.
ALAN LEWISIf you can achieve that, that then it has been a pretty good game.
ALAN LEWISIt’s up to us to make sure we’re listening to improve our chances for success-if not this time, next time.
ALAN LEWISYou can’t put something out there and assume it’s great.
ALAN LEWISIf you get those two aspects right, most rugby matches will work in your favour.
ALAN LEWISCoaches do so much research about a referee because they believe refereeing is such a crucial part of the game that the result may hinge on what we say or do.
ALAN LEWISFailure comes when you don’t listen.
ALAN LEWISI do my own analysis on the teams I am refereeing.
ALAN LEWISIf things like that are going to ruffle your feathers, don’t bother doing the job.
ALAN LEWISIf at first you don’t succeed, get a bigger hammer.
ALAN LEWISI will know some of the personalities, the players who could be difficult customers in a scrum situation.
ALAN LEWIS