Jackman: 'The biggest hurdle to making the game better as a spectacle now is how we officiate it'

Rugby's lawmakers need to get a grip on the number of stoppages in the game, according to Bernard Jackman and Jonny Holland.

It comes after the recent round of BKT United Rugby Championship games was plagued by lengthy delays, with the first half between Munster and Zebre Parma in Cork taking 57 minutes to complete, and Connacht's meeting with the Bulls last Friday lasting for more than two hours.

Connacht coach Andy Friend yesterday spoke about how the game needs to speed up, while Donncha O'Callaghan was also hugely critical of the designated water-breaks introduced by World Ruby this summer.

Ironically, World Rugby have been trialing water-breaks in a bid to speed up the game, while also limiting the coaching personnel who can enter the field of play, largely in response to South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, and his high-profile role as a water-carrier during the 2021 British and Irish Lions series against the Springboks.

Holland, who is head coach of Cork Constitution in the Energia All-Ireland League, says the game's lawmakers are trying to fix a problem that never really existed.

"I can't understand the water-break," he said on this week's RTÉ Rugby podcast.

"When we were going through law changes with referees at the start of the season, I was wondering 'is this all about Rassie [Erasmus]?"

And while he admits some coaches have been able to deliberately slow down games in the past, and use stoppages to deliver tactical messages, he doesn't believe the issue had ever reached the tipping point.

"What's wrong with bringing messages out to the onto the pitch? I don't understand this. If a coach is really controlling them that much, then they're not going to be a great team anyway. But running messages onto the