VIDEO ANALYSIS: What to expect from Romain Poite in the 3rd Test

What makes rugby stand out from other sports is that when penalised, it’s not uncommon to see a six foot five, one hundred and twenty kilo ball of muscle say to the referee “sorry sir, won’t happen again”.

The respect and power carried by a referee can swing a game more than any player on any team. With so much on the line in the third test, we look at what impact – if any – Romaine Poite could have on the outcome.

We’ve already seen Poite in control once on tour, when the Lions met the Hurricanes for a thriller. First up in our analysis is the tendency we saw in that game to let advantage play out before stopping play.

The rule states a team must gain ‘positional or tactical advantage’ for the referee to let play run. In our video, we see Poite give the play every chance to develop, even if the ball is bobbling around or being driven backwards.

During advantage the world class players we’ll see on the world’s two best teams are in ‘free play’. If Poite continues with long advantages on Saturday it will promote individual flashes of brilliance from players to break the game open.

We’ve seen a clear direction from the team of test referees to favour flowing attacking rugby. Intelligent advantages are just one way of making this happen all over the pitch. We see a penalty brought back even after Jordie Barrett kicks to touch, which usually would end advantage.

By doing this Poite inhibits constrictive rugby and builds momentum. If advantage ends with the kick the Lions get the ball, and the play is limited to the same area, and the Hurricanes gain nothing from the penalty. By calling it back he lets the Hurricanes benefit from the choice to kick long, from where they can launch a back line move off a lineout and build momentum.

Not harming the flow of the game and the attacking team is a key theme we’ve seen on tour. Poite was consistent in his fair use of advantage all over the pitch in the Hurricanes game. Even when the incident warranted a card, he gave the Lions every opportunity to score from free play before brandishing the yellow. Hopefully he brings this attitude on Saturday and the game gets the spectacle it deserves.

In stark contrast however to all his excellent work in advantage, is Poite’s woeful positioning around the ruck. A referee should try to have as little impact on the players as possible, and standing in the way does the opposite.

In our first clip, we see Rhys Webb have to detour around Poite, resulting in an unprotected Dan Biggar and the Hurricanes stealing the ball.

In our next clip we get an excellent angle on where the referee is going wrong. The flat defensive line creates a ninety degree corner with the side of the ruck. Poite finds himself in this pocket of space and in the first clip has to quickly shuffle out of the way to avoid a pass.

The implications of this are most evident in our next clip. Any intelligent scrum half and forward back who sees a referee in that position will target it. The Hurricanes take time at Poite’s position and he obstructs the Lions defensive line, letting the ‘Canes barrel over for a try. Poite worryingly remains unapologetic and awards the try.

The Lions do the same in almost the exact same position and run at Poite. This time however they use it as him decoy and quickly recycle to a secondary pod, having drawn players to the referee to make the tackle. They’re held up over the line but the obstruction remains.

It’s this obstruction that’s worrying. Nobody from either team wants the third test decided by a try scored because the ref was in the wrong place. It promotes cynical, uncreative play. The opposite of what we want to see.

There is of course still hope. Our next clip shows bad positioning, but also creative running rugby.

Poite is again in the corner between the ruck and the defence, The Hurricanes scrum half looks at him, but decides against using that option. Instead he flashes the ball to the backline and we see a different type of inside ball as Savea carves into the backfield and shovels a pass to Laumape who crashes over in the corner.

That move stretched across almost the entire width of the pitch from touchline to touchline. This is the type of rugby we all want to see, maybe Lions fans wont want to see a similar Savea/Laumape collaboration on Saturday, but the style of play remains fantastic.

We see another attempt from the Hurricanes, this time unsuccessfully, but the concept remains. It’s then the Lions’ turn, and our final clip encapsulates everything we’ve already talked about so far.

Laidlaw again identifies Poite in the corner and pops a pass to Kruis to target the hole the referee makes. Luckily Poite realises what’s happening and jumps out of the way. Now, because the lions have an advantage, they can afford to go wide without concern and Dan Biggar throws a beautifully risky pass to Jack Nowell before the Lions dot down in the corner.

All everyone wants from Saturday morning is a great game. When Poite was ringmaster, the Lions and Hurricanes put in an amazing performance. All we can hope is that he’s seen what we have, and brings his game to Auckland. The show must go on.