“The breakdown, obviously, is number one.”
South African referee Stuart Berry sees rugby the way most of us do at the moment. Matches are won and lost at the breakdown and whoever has their way in that hot zone sets themselves up to win the contest as a whole.
Berry will take charge of the Guinness PRO14 final at the Aviva Stadium but, a few days out from that clash between Leinster and Scarlets, he joined The Hard Yards to chat about his officiating philosophies, getting back-chat from players and his interesting side business in the music industry.
Where the two finalists are concerned, there will be a lot of senior players out on the pitch and it is guaranteed to get testy. Berry told us [from 38:00 below] how he usually copes when tasked with overseeing a massive game.
Berry has proved to be a personable, approachable referee and he often engages in chats and offers explanations with players on both sides.
“As a referee,” he says, “you know the key characters on the field. Captain and vice captain are two of those but you might find your captain is on the wing and there is a vice-captain at scrum-half.
“There may be a fetcher that you’ll have to interact with quite often and he would be a key person to have on your side. That would be a situation where you are quite happy to have down-time chats as you know his understanding of you, and vice versa, is key to the outcome of the game.”
Johnny Sexton is not Leinster captain for the final – that honour falls to Isa Nacewa – but you can be sure he will make is voice heard on the pitch. Berry comments:
“Johnny is a key player who you would draw a line around about interaction. But you do interact with him as he has earned the right to be interacted with.
“He is also that sort of key player that will not take it beyond that boundary that is unacceptable.”
Berry previously reffed in Super Rugby and has overseen Test matches too so his move to the PRO14 was a good bit of business by the organisation. It was good for the South African, too, as it meant less travel across time zones and 2am conference calls about upcoming games and match reviews.
He admits to being a fastidious about match officiating so enjoys his breaks away from rugby through the music events company he runs with his business partner back home. He is honoured to be reffing the PRO14 final but notes that being away from South Africa means he is missing out on helping to stage a few UB40 gigs [they are doing three nights in front of 10,000 fans across the country].
Scarlets and Leinster are two of the most exciting teams in the PRO14 and Berry is keen to do all he can to allow them to bring out their very best. As for the areas of the game he focuses on, Berry says:
“The breakdown, obviously, is number one. That is really important.
“And then space and time. We appreciate that for players – and particularly the way coaches are coaching in this tournament – space and time is key.
“My comments to both coaches at the weekend is that my intention is o stay within my profile, which is quick ball at the breakdown – dealing with tackler release, tackler rolling away is a key priority – and to get my assistant refs really involved with offside lines.
“And if we can create space, then we are going to get the best out of players. Essentially, we want to facilitate a situation where the players can show their skills and wen the players get to show their skills, the best team wins.”
Leinster fans will be hoping their team will be the best team but also the team that wins.
