Watching some old games recently it struck me that the game has lost some of its integrity and as such has lost some of its appeal. Even when there were only 4 tackles, the man was quickly put to ground and allowed to stand and play the ball. The introduction of the (Wigan) wrestle has created a quite unseemly mess around the ruck. It is impossible for a referee to always give the correct call on stripped ball or lost possession so his job should be made easier. Something else our pie eating friends have introduced is the deliberate infringement within 10 yards of the line allowing the defending team to reset and denying tries that have otherwise been earned by good play. From the restart there is the a stereotypical set trying to crash over and if stretched, a second penalty gifted to allow defenders to reset.

In both of these instances the referee should be encouraged to take complete control. Firstly by calling "held" as soon as a player is being held up in the tackle rather than being put to ground and the deliberate infringement within the 10 should receive an immediate sin binning.

If we can eradicate these aspects from the game we will have a much better viewing product when we return.