Saddened! wrote: Of course I'm not, but on a minor, irrelevant level, it does fit.
No. It really doesn't fit at all.
The issue here is that refereeing in RL is terrible and inconsistent. Bit that is not unique for Saints. Every other club has to put up with the same rubbish referees and decisions too. Admittedly, Saints have had some bad calls at crucial times that have cost them points, but I think that is more down to bad luck rather than persecution by bent referees.
I also think that Saints are unwittingly partially to blame. They play a tough and aggresive style of play, and don't hold back. This occasionally leads to accident foul tackles, as well as big hits that look like foul play at full speed. The refs are human and will occasionally make the wrong call on these.
The recent games against NRL teams likely didn't help, either. Because they all play a similar style of aggressive play to Saints, the referees and opposition players are used to the big hits and know what to look out for when making a split second decision. In other words, the referees let more go. Bringing that successful brand of rugby back home and they are suddenly getting pinged for it by the idiots we let loose with whistles. But it is not just players in red vee's. It is the same with any team.
