Mr Alibert, is fit enough to keep up with the play, he's brave enough to stick his head into the ruck, which cuts down the arm, leg trapping nonsense favored by a certain wigan fullback. At first glance I thought that pass was forward, but the over head camera proved Alibert to have made the correct decision. During his first season he did seem slightly muddled at times but this was probably due to his English being a little rusty. He doesn't have "favorites" and he's not interested in showing off, he just gets on with his job.
I remember one of the Catalans props mutter something under his breath in French at a Crusaders game. Mr Alibert marched him 10 meters

Yeah,could have sworn he held up both hands as though Creagh was going off for 10 ?

not a bad job, got the calls right

couldve sent ben creagh to the sin bin for professional foul but was happy he didnt

couldn't imagine any other ref doing any better than him,with regards to neutrality etc IMO

Whether it was forwards or not, the touch judge was bang in line with the incident, surely it was his call not the Ref’s.

I love the World Club Challenge, with the Aussies not having started their season, it’s a great leveller.

Memo to the RFL, have the Four Nations in February

.

Thierry did well last night. At least he doesn't continually call the players 'mate' like certain other refs. He is also up with play all the time and was well positioned for each of the tries.

Especially that Wigan try when he ran inbetween the Wigan player (Carmont?) and the chasing defender. I thought he was fairly poor, but that had nothing to do with neutrality, I think he's a very inconsistent ref in general.

I think he was stopping the clock if it was the holding on the line with a couple to go? Maybe could have been a yellow but I thought he had a generally good game

To be honest I didn't notice he was there most of the time and in my book thats a good nights work. Have seen him have a couple of absolute shockers though in the past.

So is Eddie Hemmings. However the difference between both is that Alibert will go out week after week after week and referee 34 players in front of fans and coaches baying for his blood. What does Hemmings do? Sit in a warm studio for 30-45 minutes spouting nonsence, then commentating on the game and always picking up all the negative aspects and never anything positive.

If Eddie ever had the balls to put himself in the position that Alibert is in, he would s*** his pants. Same with Phil Clarke. He goes on and on about the technical side of things, but has he got the balls to go into coaching. Not a chance. He's happy with his cushy number, with no responsibility whatsoever.

And anyway, on the subject of Alibert, I thought he had a very good game last night.

Was you at Craven Park yesterday? Couldn't see you...

When he first came into SL he was dire. Hes not the best ref in the world but his improvement has been huge. Lets hope he carries on that way

thought he did well yesterday as I have said but I witnessed him have an absolute shocker in a french LER game in january - he really lost the plot,trying to apply SL principles to local french rugby maybe ? he really was embarassing...

saying that,who would be a referee ?

watched Mr Leatherbarrow from St Helens for the first time at Toulouse v Skolars on saturday and thought he did ok if a little too picky at scrums etc - looks a decent prospect to me ?

no mate,I had to cover the TO v Skolars game unfortunately - sounds like a bad day for you lot ? especially against a team I saw really struggle against Wakey the previous saturday in Perpignan...

does it mean Catalans are improving or HKR are getting as bad as their neighbours ?

it is,and always has been a question of consistency from each referee at all games and not their personal interpretations of the rules of the game at any given time.

no disrespect to any ref (except Mr Child who I believe is c**p) I feel the most consistent ref is Mr Bentham - but everyone will have their own preferences obviously.

My honest view is that you guys looked okay and credit for capitalising on our poor play (e.g. not picking on Josh Hodgson but a hooker knocking on a tap 20 restart?!

), but we were truly awful, worst performance since our bad run mid-way through last season. Like I said though credit to Catalans for making the most of it, and Menzies is a credit to the game to keep playing like that at 37.

yeh Roofs,a bit like the curates egg you lot ! never really know which HKR will turn up on the day it seems to me ?

Catalans were dire against Wakey,giving up after 65 minutes so something dramatic must have changed ! I spoke to Damien Blanch after that game and asked him (politely,cos' he's a solid b****r !) what the problem was and he said 'don't worry mate,we'll get it right' - maybe Millard made the difference ?
regarding Steve Menzies,he IS a credit to the game and a nice guy too - I took the missus down to a training session at Perpignan when she was feeling ok (she has cancer and was in-between chemo sessions) and he made her feel like a million dollars - he even contributed to a 'Get Well Soon' card for her with notes & signatures from many of the lads.A moment that deserves respect from a great servant to the game.Still a good player too...

I couldn't agree more about your comments on Steve Menzies. I met him myself last season and he was more than happy to chat about the game, have a few photos taken and seemed a genuinely nice guy.

Hope your missus makes a speedy recovery by the way.

thanks mate - she's been suffering for six years now and despite losing most of her internal bits she is still with us thanks to great medical care and a very stong will not to mention the immense buzz she gets from watching RL at any level - each live game seems to have the same impact as a dose of chemo ! Can't imagine a nicer bloke than SM though we are lucky to have plenty of nice guys in our sport ie Dean Widders,Gareth Carvell,Olivier Elima and the like - that is,when they're not knocking seven bells of s**t out of each other !

I'm yet to meet an RL player that won't give you an autograph or take a few minutes to have a chat about the game. In fairness I've met a few RU players and they have been the same as well.

Glad your wife gets enjoyment from the great sport that is RL. She sounds a fighter and undoubtedly is an inspiration to anyone affected by that terrible disease.

after watching loads of matches at Perpignan and as Season Ticket holders at TO over the years we have always asked the visisting teams for autographs and all but one player ( a certain Cougars thug) have all taken the time,win or lose to sign our programmes.Even Jonny Lomax last year at Perpignan when he was almost unconscious !
Don't know if you have experienced the Toulouse hospitality but it's well worth the trip ask any Championship fan to TO13 !



forgot to mention Gareth Thomas & Barry Eaton in the 'nice guys' list

All the fans in the ground around us were saying he'd done well. I didn't really notice him, which to me is the sign of a good ref.

Alibert had another solid game.We all know that the best referees are sat in their armchairs,eating fish and chips and smoking cigarettes.Unfortunately,they don't know the rules and don't have the fitness to lace up their boots.

Best of luck to your wife mate. Nice to hear good stories about players too. What an absolute legend Gareth Thomas is, was sceptical about him trying to learn RL so late but what a credit to rugby in general he is.



Have kinda followed Wales RU for many years, would be cool to get his autograph at our game against Crusaders next week but I'm in East Stand so no chance really.

met him a few times ie. after the france v wales game plus a couple of Crusaders games (latterly the pre season friendly) and was great chatting away and signing my programme etc - yeh, a really nice person and still playing well,just like Menzies.