I understand your point BR and largely agree.
At the same time I am prepared to play devils advocate. There are several issues with the ref pulling up every technical break down penalty -
- players do modify their behaviour, but modern coaching is all about exploiting or bending the rules. So when we solve one problem we’d almost certainly create another
- generally speaking fans blame the refs, not the players, for high penalty counts. People turn off and complain that the game is too stop start. You’d think that if refs had a crack down then teams would adapt and the flow of the game would return in a short while. But that doesn’t ever seem to be the way it happens. So, based on that, I’d suggest fans actually don’t want every penalty called. Normally only the one’s committed against our team.
So I am prepared the accept some leniency at times. The question is in the balance between consistency and letting the game flow. In that respect I think it’s like driving without your seat belt or speeding. You aren’t going to get caught every time, but when you do there is no use complaining that someone else was speeding too and there are some times/places - ie school zones - that you should realise are higher risk.
Harry Lloyd should have been aware that refs always police sealing off more closely at the end of the game when a team is trying to close a game out. He was significantly more likely to be called for it then compared to at pretty much any other time in the game. He should have also been aware that they were well within Barrett’s kicking range and that a penalty was enough to lose the game. And, knowing these things, he needed to not give the ref the opportunity to penalise him.
Morgan Turinui made the comment in the first half that the Brumbies gave away a penalty when it was a good time to give away a penalty. That is game management and all teams do it. But Harry’s at the end was poor decision making on his part and he should beware of the risk.