Watching events unfold in the half-empty Cake Tin in Wellington last weekend, I was reminded of one of boxing’s immortal lines.

After Max Schmeling was denied justice against Jack Sharkey in 1932, his Jewish manager raged on behalf of losers everywhere: “We wuz robbed! We shoulda stood in bed!”

It was a sentiment the Blitzbokke would have identified with after New Zealand beat them at the death in a wild Sevens final. New Zealand were typically rip-roaring in their approach, but there was a fishy smell in the aftermath. Referee Matt O’Brien had a shocker.

It’s not that he missed a couple of things, as all match officials do. He had a howler and had the blinkers on with the men in black receiving a string of unanswered penalties in the second half. From having their back to the ropes in a giddy first half, they delivered the devastating knockout blow at the death.

At one point, my eldest son, who is 15, turned to me and asked, “Dad, does Sevens allow forward passes?”

I had to crush his sweet innocence by saying that this was not the case. Rather, the referee was having a bad day.

The trouble with Sevens, if you watch enough of it, is that application of the laws is often as ropey as the game itself. Forward passes are a dime-a-dozen, off-sides is standard and everyone bows at the altar of pace and movement. Gotta keep things going! Bugger the small stuff!

Sevens is many things, but rugby it is not.

Ordinarily this wouldn’t matter, but Sevens has acquired great importance since being admitted to the Olympic movement. South Africa will be among the favourites in Rio in August, but the obvious point to be made is how much influence referees will have. Perish the thought.

The shambles in Wellington will soon be forgotten – as Oom Boy Louw said, there is only one measure and that is what it says on the scoreboard when time is up – but a balls-up in Rio will have far-reaching consequences.

Just ask Craig Joubert, whose legacy will forever be stained by events at the recent World Cup. He is a fine referee, SA’s best by some distance, but he had an off day which he will never be allowed to forget.

Poor Joubert was hung out to dry by World Rugby. Even now, he has not pleaded his case – he isn’t allowed to.

O’Brien, the son of former international referee Paddy, has suffered no such sanction. There has probably been a quiet word, but he’ll pop up again soon enough to dish out his unique brand of rugby justice. Heaven help us.

Sevens coach Neil Powell, meanwhile, will have his performance measured by his employers. In black and white, the scoreboard will reflect a defeat. There will be no details column and he’ll be marked down for an error not of his making.

If O’Brien produced that clanger in the Olympic final, it would be catastrophic. Sevens would become a laughing stock to potential converts and the losers would have to contend with silver medals through no fault of their own.

Two days after O’Brien’s calamity, nine new referees were added to the Super Rugby panel. At face value, this is encouraging news. The game needs fresh blood and it needs better officials.

What it doesn’t need is officials who have little instinct for the game and referees who ham it up for the cameras (here’s looking at you, Steve Walsh).

Managing a game is a fiendishly difficult job, but it pays well and offers the best seat in the house. People love to hate referees, but it’s not an impossible job. Wales’ Nigel Owens is so excellent he has managed to ingratiate himself with fans the world over. He blends a firm hand with good humour and sound game management. He is the template for all aspiring referees.

The memory of Wellington will soon pass, but you despair for what might come down the road. The laws are forever changing, the law book itself is complex and the all-seeing eye of television means there is no room to hide.

Wait for the bang. – © Sunday Tribune