The whistle

The whistle must be made to ‘talk’ - to communicate to everyone concerned that an infringement has taken place. Remember, players and spectators don’t like excessive whistle blowing. For your whistle-based communication, the following guidelines help to ensure a precise, confident and consistent approach for all matches:

• The angle of the whistle in your mouth gives different tones - up for a higher note, down for a lower note. The tone can be shortened or lengthened by quickly withdrawing the whistle from the mouth.
• Depending on the infringement, the tone can be varied as follows:

• Use a long, loud blast for a penalty or mark.
• Use a ‘happy’ loud blast for a try or goal.
• Use a short blast for a scrum.