It has saddened me to see adverse reports of Clara Munarini’s handling of the crucial Scotland-Wales game.
Specifically, she didn’t show Wales a yellow card till the 65th minute, despite giving a flurry of penalties against them as they defended by all means at their disposal.
A penalty kick completed by Keira Bevan was the last and decisive action of the match.
I had been impressed by Munarini’s control of matches ever since she debuted at Six Nations level in the Wales-England match in 2019.
She hasn’t had her troubles to seek. In February 2020 she was in charge of the Scotland-England game that had to be called off at Scotstoun because of Storm Ciara. Transferred the very next day (a Monday!) to Murrayfield, the match was played out in a heavy snowstorm. England were offered hot-water bottles mid-match. Was Munarini’s whistle?
More important, Munarini is one of precisely two World Cup referees not to have English as their first language (Aurélie Groizeleau of France is the other). It is hard for most rugby people imagining what it must be like to control a game as complex as rugby without resorting to their native tongue. Both of them achieve this outstandingly well.
Until last weekend.
I have laboured the point before about the injustice of English being the only language used on the international rugby field. That goes in particular for the referees. Rising to the top of the refereeing tree is hard enough, but needing to have a master’s degree in English as well strikes me as an absurd and unjustified requirement.
The person directly in control of refereeing matters in New Zealand, Alhambra Nievas of Spain, is another who reached the pinnacle of her trade using a second language. To her falls the verdict on Munarini’s progress beyond the pool stages.
If Nievas and her committee are of the same opinion as wide swathes of the media, then we have to fear that this weekend’s appointment, the Fiji v South Africa game, will be the last where Munarini carries the whistle.
Any complaints from the Scottish side of the argument have to concede that the game was there for the taking. They were largely at fault in failing to do so.
Now let’s imagine the final being decided in the 81st minute.
Lead photos show: (L-R) Rugby World Cup 2021 referees Lauren Jenner (NZL), Maggie Cogger-Orr (NZL), Joy Neville (IRE), Sara Cox (ENG), Aimee Barrett-Theron (RSA), Hollie Davidson (SCO), Aurelie Groizeleau (FRA), Amber McLachlan (AUS) and Clara Munarini (ITA) at Nesuto Stadium Hotel on 2 October, 2022 in Auckland, New Zealand.
