Owen Doyle

Owen Doyle

Contributor

Owen Doyle, a contributor to The Irish Times, is a former Test referee and former director of referees at the Irish Rugby Football Union.

Owen Doyle: French determination to ensure a straight throw-in to the scrum a bold, welcome initiative

It’s not simply about the scrum-half delivering a straight ball. The mechanics of the scrum must also change to ensure the hooker can strike safely

Owen Doyle: Dan Sheehan should have got a red card and a longer ban for dangerous strike

The third Test between the Lions and Australia was a rugby travesty

Owen Doyle: Why Jac Morgan’s clear out of Carlo Tizzano was not obvious foul play

No consistency in refereeing between the two hemispheres is causing problems

Tom Curry walked tightrope in first Lions Test, but maybe he knew tackle would go unpunished

Referee inconsistencies laid bare in Lions clash, but it wasn’t the worst-offending match of the weekend

Owen Doyle: Lions tour has shown that TMO protocol is in serious need of review

The lineout problem is raising its ugly head again

Owen Doyle: For the good of the Lions tour, referees need to stop ignoring the rules of rugby

Waratahs clash was the scene of more strange and troubling decisions

First game of Lions tour showed why the lineout is heading for same farcical fate as the scrum

Referees’ consistent failure to penalise violations is cheapening the lineout

Owen Doyle: Let’s hope the Lions’ penalty try is a sign of things to come

And let’s hope recent changes don’t mean something horrific will have to happen before a referee shows a red card

Owen Doyle: Rugby players seem to think they can interrogate referees. It needs to stop

Officials must lay down a marker with teams during Lions tour

Owen Doyle: Conflating cheating with ‘character’ will make refereeing rugby impossible

URC chief executive’s failure to condemn gamesmanship around Jaden Hendrikse’s ‘cramp and wink’ is perplexing

Owen Doyle: Rugby’s failure to punish violence and gamesmanship risks pushing a generation away

Amateur players are abandoning the sport over fears of sustaining brain damage

Rugby’s 20-minute red card is a dangerous departure that risks devaluing the importance of player safety

It will be in operation during Lions tour, with players sent off replaced after 20 minutes

Owen Doyle: Leaving an arguable try scoring decision totally in the TMO’s hands does not stack up

All referees should insist on seeing the replays when so many points are at stake

Owen Doyle: On the knockout stage, referees need to deliver their best performance

Scotland’s Sam Grove-White, Ireland’s Eoghan Cross and Wales’s Adam Jones could all up their games in charge of the whistle

Owen Doyle: The laws of the game are clear - Leinster should have had a penalty try

The decision facing referee Pierre Brousset in the last-minute of the Champions Cup semi-final was complex, but there should have been only one outcome

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