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SIX NATIONS NEWS:PADDY O’BRIEN, the under-fire IRB elite referee’s manager, has defended the controversial edict regarding Law 15.6.c which has landed like a grenade in the middle of the Six Nations. O’Brien accepted last Saturday’s referee at Croke Park, Craig Joubert, carried out the interpretation whereby a tackler must release the ball-carrier when he goes to ground before re-engaging, but absolved himself or the IRB of the confusion this prompted.

“I think there has been some confusion; (but) there definitely hasn’t been a law change. It was agreed at the referees’ conference in November to put emphasis on all the law at the tackle, and that’s what we’ve done,” said O’Brien.