
Total Rugby took Alan Lewis back to Lords to meet up with an old friend
To find out, Total Rugby brought together two old friends - Alan Lewis, the international rugby referee who has also represented Ireland at cricket, and Ian Gould the test umpire, former Arsenal goalkeeper and England cricketer.
The pair compared notes at the home of cricket recently and had a mutual respect for each other and the similar challenges they face, including the need for players to accept that not every decision they make will be 100 percent correct.
"One thing that fascinates me an awful lot is I watch you refereeing and you drag this lock over, you have got the sternest face of all time, you talk to him and he is absolutely petrified of you!" admitted Gould.
"I can't work that out. But at the end of it, the respect that man is giving you is absolutely fascinating and I think sometimes in cricket now, we are getting a little bit more petulant now, when things are given not out there is a little bit of arms on hips.
"So I think we can learn from that. But I wouldn't be doing that for love nor money, I wouldn't be dragging a six foot eight lock over and telling them what you are telling them!"
For Lewis, though, that is the "great value of our Game".
"The bit that I love and fascinates me is when I have got an 11 stone winger making an idiot of that 19 stone, six foot eight lock and running into space. A Shane Williams or a (Christophe) Dominici or something like that. That to me is what the game is all about."

VIDEO: Life in the middle
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Related story:Wales prop takes up refereeing
When a serious neck injury forced prop Chris Horsman to retire from top flight rugby, more than anything he wanted to stay involved in the game he loved.
In his eyes, the next best thing to playing was officiating and Horsman is a firm believer that more former players should follow his lead.
The former Wales test prop has made it his ultimate aim to become an international referee - ironic, because as a player he had a reputation as a tough, no nonsense prop often in trouble with the Law!
One obvious area of interest for Horsman is the scrum. While it remains a mystery to many, he is hoping that his inside knowledge of what he terms 'the dark arts' will prove an advantage.
But what kind of referee will he make? Find out by watching the video feature..

VIDEO: CHRIS HORSMAN - TEST PROP TO REFEREE




