ON RUGBY:Jonathan Kaplan and his fellow Southern Hemisphere referees are overseeing what at times almost looks like a different sport in the Super 14, writes GERRY THORNLEY

ANOTHER GOOD weekend, dare one say it in these negative times, for Irish rugby. The four provinces all won in the Magners League, leaving Munster and Leinster well placed in the play-off zone, Ulster just outside and Connacht up to the dizzy heights of eighth. More to the point, the strain on the provinces during the Six Nations has revealed hidden reserves of gold bullion underneath the frontline, with a smattering of home-grown talent being unearthed each week all across the board.

Already a newer generation, such as Fergus McFadden, Rhys Ruddock, Dominic Ryan, Kevin McLaughlin, Ian Nagle, Stephen Archer and Nevin Spence had been making a mark, and now the likes of Conor Murray, Declan Cusack, Simon Zebo, Niall Morris, Luke Marshall, Paddy McAllister and others are doing likewise.

Nothing is a substitute for games. The extra strain, forced upon the league and the provinces by the additional four rounds which has come with the entry of the two Italian teams, has been a blessing in disguise.

All that said, the value of the expensive overseas’ imports such as Paul Warwick (how can Munster be letting a 10/12/15 goal-kicker leave?), Isa Nacewa and Ruan Pienaar is arguably even more important at this time of the season than when the big Euro games roll into town.

Admittedly, there wouldn’t have been too much in the short-term for Declan Kidney over the weekend, with the Murrayfield replacements bench (all perhaps a little over-keen to make a mark) at least getting a run-out. The options for change aren’t plentiful and, with the pack and three-quarter line likely to be unchanged, the management’s focus is likely to be on half-back.

One still suspects the Irish management regard Tomás O’Leary and Jonny Sexton as their World Cup halves, but on their form from Murrayfield, though, it would be hard to remove Eoin Reddan or Ronan O’Gara from the starting line-up. Each of the try-scoring halves left their stamp on the events in Edinburgh; Reddan quickened the tempo of Ireland’s game and O’Gara gave Ireland a tactical lesson in how to mix up a little territory with their greater ambition.

As an aside: why on earth are the league sanctioning a fixture list which sees every province at home on the same weekend for the second time this season? This means, for a second time later in the campaign, all four will be away on the same weekend. Last Friday, the Leinster and Ulster games overlapped on television, while Connacht supporters also had the option of attending Galway United’s opening League of Ireland Premier Division game against St Patrick’s Athletic.

The league organisers have to give Connacht and the rest of the league a fairer chance. That’s just not professional enough.

The other of issue, of course, is the standard of refereeing, with too much spoiling tactics being permitted and the hindmost foot offside line not being enforced as rigidly as it might be and thus reward positive rugby more.

Interestingly, Saturday’s referee, namely Jonathan Kaplan, will be the first from the Southern Hemisphere Ireland will have encountered in the Six Nations. Kidney and the Irish management don’t always avail of the opportunity to speak to referees on the evening before the game, but they would be well advised to do so this Friday, not least because Warren Gatland will.

Furthermore, Kaplan and co are refereeing what at times almost looks like a different sport in the Super 14. Last Friday, Kaplan (sporting a new, cropped hairstyle which makes him look even bossier) oversaw the Auckland Blues’ 41-32 – and five tries to four win – over the Lions at Coca Cola Park (ye gods, formerly Ellis Park!).

It was particularly striking, again, how the defending team rarely committed more than the tackler and next player in, and sometimes not even him, to the ruck. There was still a contest, as such, if the next player in could get his hands on the ball.

Alternatively, if the next player in counter-rucked over the ball then two or three team-mates quickly sniffed out the opportunity to join him in the counter-ruck.

In pretty much all these cases, Kaplan did allow this contest, sometimes penalising the ball-carrier for not releasing, but if not then he quickly shouted “let it come white/red”, or alternatively was adamant that the next player(s) in had to “arrive on their feet” and “maintain their own body weight”.

More often that not, the defending team usually stood off and simply waited for the recycle, with 13 men set defensively. Both sides were penalised for not releasing in the tackle, but (over a year down the line of this being very strictly refereed) were generally much sharper to this law amendment. Kaplan was also harsh on tacklers not rolling away.

The key was for both sides – and the Blues were especially effective at this – to be highly selective in when to contest for opposition ball in the tackle/breakdown area.

In other words: don’t go fishing all the time, and, if in doubt, take your hands away.

This goes against the grain for many Irish players, whose success in slowing down ball or winning turnovers was central to the Grand Slam success. But it’s also down to the way the tackle area is interpreted in the Northern Hemisphere, not least in the Magners League, and one still maintains that Ireland have been more than a little roughly treated in their three games to date.

Kaplan did not seem especially strict on attacking players going off their feet or sealing. In any event, there were fewer pile-ups than remains the norm in the Northern Hemisphere and even in the Six Nations thus far, and in turn much quicker ball.

Furthermore, in keeping with virtually all Super 14 referees, re-set scrums were rarely countenanced. This just doesn’t sit with their targeted TV audience. Hence, at either the first or second put-in, there is an indirect penalty, and one imagines there must be slightly more guesswork here by the referees. No matter. Mike Phillips and, presumably, Eoin Reddan, will have opportunities for quick taps.

With Southern Hemisphere referees also stricter on the hindmost foot offside line, the overall effect should make for a higher tempo game which ought also generally reward the team in possession. Whisper it, but it actually has the makings of a cracking good game.