England 'to launch ref protest'

England will protest to the International Rugby Board (IRB) about the referee's performance in the defeat by Ireland, reports the Daily Mail.

England coach Andy Robinson has called on ex-international referees Colin High and Steve Lander to analyse several of Jonathan Kaplan's decisions. "I want to go through the tape with Colin and Steve," Robinson told the Daily Mail. "I want to speak to the IRB about it. I think only one side was refereed." High, the Rugby Football Union's referees' manager, claimed Kaplan made three major errors which changed the outcome of Sunday's match. England were beaten 19-13 by the Irish in Dublin, their third straight defeat in the 2005 Six Nations. "The International Rugby Board will be disappointed," High told the Daily Mail. "Jonathan Kaplan is in the top 20 in the world but that wasn't an international performance. "It would not have been acceptable in the Zurich Premiership. "If one of my referees had done that, I would have had my backside kicked for making the appointment. "If any English referee refereed like that in a European match, there would be an inquest. No question about that. "If someone had performed like that, he would have been pulled from the next game."