John O'Sullivan finds the referee's non-stop chatter provides an entertaining soundtrack to the action

Tony Spreadbury is a known communicator: loud, gregarious and a man who would offer exceptional value for the €10 it cost to purchase a Ref Link at Lansdowne Road last Saturday. The English referee is an incessant talker - the longest elapsed time during the match without him speaking was less than 20 seconds - who'll happily shoot the breeze with all and sundry.

A favoured expression is "SHAAAT UP" - he only uttered it once on Saturday - his way of asking for a little silence. He dominated the airwaves at Lansdowne Road but unfortunately couldn't hear his fellow officials clearly.

The communications problem started immediately prior to kick-off. Irish referee Alain Rolland was acting as the fourth official and Spreadbury beseeched on several occasions: "I've got a lot of background noise." The English official is constantly cajoling right throughout the game, from the moment he instructs France to "stay behind" the kicker at kick-off.

In the opening throes of the match, Spreadbury issues the following instructions. "Green six, go back. Ruck. Stay back. Tackler away. Stay. Stay back. Hands out. Get away, four. Advantage. Away on the floor, tackler, away. Stay there. Six. Ruck, no hands. Move back. Play on. Use it. No hands."

He's not the only voice that's picked up by his microphone. At one point Paul O'Connell is heard asking the official to "watch their blockers at the rucks; you know what I mean", to which Spreadbury replies rather unconvincingly, "I will."

Midway through the first half O'Connell is again imploring the referee, this time with a numerical conundrum. "Ref, they've seven, we've only six." Spreadbury, though, is unmoved and at one stage tries a little Franglais - "Sortie, Sortie" - before adding a little cryptically, "Hands off, black."

Spreadbury is still concerned by the buzzing sound in his ear. "Alain, I've got far too much background noise."

Malcolm O'Kelly is taken out in the air; an Irish voice helpfully offers: "At every lineout, they're doing that," to which Spreadbury replies, "I'll have a look, thank you."

There's 17 minutes gone when the French are penalised once again, this time for a high tackle. The English official explains: "captain, he knows, he knows, high tackle."

Play switches to a scrum and Spreadbury addresses the Irish hooker Shane Byrne. "Hooker, good call that. That's what I like, nice and loud. They like a bit of competitive play, don't they, ha, ha, ha."

An indication of the continuing communications difficulties Spreadbury is encountering is given in the following exchange: "Spreaders, Roy (Maybank, the television match official) here. Don't know if you can hear me but we have about five and a half minutes left." The deafening silence that ensues suggests it is patently obvious "Spreaders" can't.

The Englishman offers his trademark antidote to the cacophony of pleas at a scrum: "SHAAAT UP, he can't put it in."

Rolland informs Spreadbury the faulty equipment will be fixed at half-time as it would take about a minute to make the change.

Perhaps the most informative moment in terms of the Ref Link comes when French centre Benoit Baby head-butts Brian O'Driscoll at a ruck prompting an ensuing reaction from the Irish captain and those players in the immediate vicinity.

WHISTLE. WHISTLE. "No, got it." WHISTLE. "I've got it." WHISTLE. "I've got it. I've got it. I've got it. Leave it to me. Time off." Spreadbury corrals Baby. "Very steady. Just stay there, we'll talk."

At that moment touch judge Paul Honiss comes in to converse with Spreadbury. The New Zealander offers: "Green 13 has come into the ruck, no problems with that. 12 Blue has come in, okay; he's come in late."

Spreadbury interrupts and says something that is unintelligible before Honiss can be heard venturing, "Speak to him (Baby), very sternly though."

Spreadbury beckons Baby over. "You came in very late. You go very careful(ly). Captains, please. The ball on the floor has been available on the few occasions when no one has been clearing out. Both sides have got their pillars there so let's start pushing them back or I'll start penalising the side going forward with the pillars there. Okay. Thank you."

With Ireland trailing 21-19 and stuck inside their own 22, a ruck forms and Spreadbury instructs Irish scrumhalf Peter Stringer: "Use it. Use it. Use it. Play." French flanker Serge Betsen floors Stringer and then robs O'Kelly before Sylvain Marconnet's pass allows Christophe Dominici to cross for the try and decisive score. Ireland are annoyed but Spreadbury is heard informing an Irish player: "I told him to use it."

He did.