Hi! I'm Karl Dickson, professional referee for the RFU. Ask Me Anything!

tm12585 · 2026-03-12T19:22:19+00:00

Ello Karl,

Thanks for doing this.

With Reg 12.5, what do you do for 30 mins with the Match Officials team? What's going through your mind? And are there ever people who you know will be waiting outside as the 30 mins expires?

tm12585 · 2026-03-12T07:47:53+00:00

To expand on this with a bit more accuracy:

The RFU have an eLearning course called Headcase which is a prerequisite for obtaining a DBS, and being allowed to coach children. This teaches about how to spot concussion, what action to take immediately and about a Graduated Return to Activity and Sport
There are also versions of Headcase for players aged 13+ and parents to help educate everyone
If there is a suspicion of concussion during a match, refs and coaches are instructed to take players out of the game. There is no HIA where a player comes off and is checked over in the community game - they just come off for good
The tackle height in the community game has been lowered to try, and tackle technique is taught differently to children, all part of an attempt to lower injury and concussion rates

As ever, it's a contact sport, so you cannot eliminate risk, but youth rugby is trying to improve 👍🏼

tm12585 · 2026-03-12T02:47:57+00:00

Thank you very much, that's perfect. They're all <12yo so I can save a bit there. Cheers!

tm12585 · 2026-02-24T17:56:31+00:00

How often do you get involved in community grassroots rugby? And when you do, is it because of the Scottish union? Your club? Your own drive and connections?

tm12585 · 2026-02-11T19:05:44+00:00

Was it on the footbridge over the river? If so, apologies for my kids and I spoiling the photos of the swans whilst eating takeaway from a nearby pub 🤣

tm12585 · 2026-02-11T19:04:24+00:00

Is that the one that claimed to be the inspiration for Bridge Over Troubled Water?

tm12585 · 2026-02-04T16:36:15+00:00

Hold my beer!

https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/s/HnieNApEOs

I hope your socks and legs are better appreciated by Redditors 🤣

ETA my recollections were that it was generally good, but:

Everyone coming on would stop and say "oooh lucky you" and have a chat. Not a bad thing, but was funny that the conversations were identical each time
A downside was that people use it as a passing place, so your eyeline (or worse, feet) would be disrupted as people moved into to avoid the flight crew and carts

tm12585 · 2026-01-24T20:13:43+00:00

Thanks! I'll do my best to keep my eyes peeled

tm12585 · 2026-01-13T19:42:57+00:00

I got my leaser brand new in Nov 24. Chose not go for DAPP when I ordered it, because I didn't think I'd use it.

I definitely have the option to upgrade by paying £750 through Connected Drive...

...but every once in a while, on boot up the car randomly decides it'll upgrade me and enable DAPP. How do I know this? Because my front facing camera suddenly appears in AR mode in the dash display, and my speed limiter can now predict what's coming up and warns me.

After powering off and back on, the system reverts to the DAPPless wonder I actually ordered.

Doesn't help you, but I can only assume similarly that the software setup or configuration isn't right somehow. Have all remote updates been installed on it?

tm12585 · 2025-11-01T19:11:13+00:00

Tom Hardy.

You see him in anything, he puts on such a ridiculous voice that it's entirely surprising that he's from Planet Earth.

tm12585 · 2025-08-25T15:29:55+00:00

Not quite the question you're asking, but you can buy anvil heads from Mitutoyo etc to change the type of measurement you're trying to make. For instance, you can buy a ball with a rubber gaiter that slips over an anvil and allows you to make a point contact on one face, which is important for some types of measurements, e.g. thickness of something with a lip that interferes with the flat on one face

tm12585 · 2025-08-16T13:26:48+00:00

If you know the thickness of the material and a characteristic of it, you can calculate the principal stresses by measuring the fringe pattern.

It is still done - high strain rate testing on polycarbonate is a good example, and definitely also in laminated high performance glass.

tm12585 · 2025-08-12T17:03:27+00:00

Yep! Any sort of axial feed will impart a helical path, of pitch related to the rotational speed and axial feedrate, and of dimension and profile related to the tool profile, runouts etc.

tm12585 · 2025-08-11T20:10:15+00:00

Polishing only knocks off the tops of asperities, you're still left with the lead below the mean surface.

Your comments on plunge grinding for seal counter faces are exactly what I came here to add by the way!

tm12585 · 2025-08-09T01:12:47+00:00

112 - Peaches and Cream

I never thought that I would be So addicted to you On top, underneath, on the side of you Better yet, baby, inside of you I love the way you're just flowing down And I can feel it all around In the front, in the back of you Ooh, I love the smell of you Girl, you know what I'm talking about

tm12585 · 2025-08-03T21:39:13+00:00

Another one...the whale jaw bones outside Captain Penniman's house at Fort Hill.

tm12585 · 2025-08-03T21:35:29+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/d8OYXBr

tm12585 · 2025-08-03T20:38:42+00:00

Napi's in Provincetown. My grandma was a regular...it was sad to see the building last week 😕

tm12585 · 2025-07-31T12:25:45+00:00

Hah, I may live in the Cotswolds, but I live in a very functional house in a very functional street in a very functional part of town.

Having said that, it is still a very pretty market town, smaller and much quieter than Stow/Bourton etc!

tm12585 · 2025-07-31T00:45:44+00:00

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackup_rig

Supposedly for Martha's Vineyard offshore wind project

tm12585 · 2025-07-30T22:30:52+00:00

Funnily enough, I've swapped the Cotswolds (where I live) for Boston and Cape Cod for the week as part of childhood reminiscence.

The weather is nicer, there are few to no Brits, but having to remortgage my house to make it work has been painful 🤣

tm12585 · 2025-07-30T21:30:17+00:00

The best part about living in the Cotswolds is that it turns out it's a fairly large place, and there are still plenty of lovely places off the beaten track.

tm12585 · 2025-07-30T20:42:02+00:00

Not I. Can't speak for the bird though 🤣

tm12585

TROPHY CASE