It won’t concern Munster as they bask in the glory of a second Heineken Cup triumph in the last three seasons.

They ensured theirs was to be seen in future years as an era of genuinely sustained success, not just the single victory of 2006.

But both the Heineken Cup final at Cardiff and the European Challenge Cup final at Gloucester plus the Super 14 semi-finals on the other side of the world were hallmarked by one factor.

It is an issue which is threatening the whole development of the game throughout the world and it should be causing enormous concern among the International Rugby Board.

The worldwide standard of refereeing last weekend was abysmal. Watching the French referee Monsieur Berdos trying to understand the wiles and ways of two English clubs in the ERC final, was to see the problem magnified.

Berdos looked bewildered at times and so did most of the players who were bemused by some of the Frenchman’s decisions.

Nigel Owens was little better in Cardiff. He made some absurd decisions, like allowing Alan Quinlan to hang off the side of most scrums without binding, in clear illegality of the laws.

It should have been a penalty every time. Apparently, Owens never saw it, nor did his assistants. Nor did they see many forward passes. Such abject standard of officiating had no place in top class rugby, never mind a Heineken final.

Owens allowed players to compete for the ball from palpably offside decisions and his pitiful cries throughout the game of ‘hands off blue/red’ after he had first allowed each side to successfully slow down release so as to kill any chance of the quality second phase possession every side needs to entertain and attack, was pathetic.

It is not just in the northern hemisphere such a dire situation exists. New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence was simply hopeless in the Super 14 semi-final between the NSW Waratahs and the Sharks from Durban. Players were allowed to dive over the ball at the breakdown, enter the pile up from the side right under his nose.

He did nothing.

Forward passes were waved on, one of them crucial in leading to a try.

Rugby football deserves better than this. But everywhere you go in the world, you see referees who are unable to match the standards and expectations of professional players.

IRB Refereeing supremo Paddy O’Brien is perfectly aware of the problem and has worked assiduously to raise standards and unearth new talent.

The trouble is, officials won’t referee the rules. There was hardly one straight scrum feed in the entire Munster/Toulouse final. Some, as crooked as a stick, virtually went into the back row.

Those who insist the scrum remains an important part of the game, close their eyes to the reality that it is no longer a contest. It cannot be when the ball is fed into one team’s feet. Yet no-one does a thing about it.

This poor standard of officiating is threatening to blight professional rugby union. Players are allowed to cheat and get away with it.

When did you last see a penalty try awarded? Yet deliberate foul play is omnipresent in the game. Referees have become a soft touch and the players know it.

Munster didn’t win the Heineken because of this. They had too much nous, cunning and forward power for the Frenchmen. But their ability to slow the game down, kill opposition ball and frustrate Toulouse were fundamental reasons for their success.

In other words, negativity succeeded.

It does too often, aided and abetted however unintentionally by weak refereeing.

When will someone do something about this?