I think full time refs would help, but they need to consider putting some measures in place to give teams a chance to challenge a flag or to relook at a play to see if something flagrant was missed. This could be allowed to a teams challenge rights.
full time refs and refs mic'd up the whole time just like the players not just when they press a button at their waist - would do 2 crucial things:
- naturally the refs would be better and more proficient and the officials would be more "official"
- this if anything is more important - it would increase accountability and transparency in ref decision making and would greatly increase fan empathy and understanding of refereeing decisions - when you can hear the refs talk through a decision then you gain a respect and understanding of how they work and it creates a greater respect for their job - and when that understanding exists the refs will get better at maintaining that process
with regard to the 2nd point i dont think there's a sport in the world that's officiated better than rugby union and it's a complex game where almost every decision is a judgement call and no challenges can occur (you can have tv reviews on scoring plays and foul play but only if the ref asks for it himself or if the Television match official buzzes down to say he needs to have a look) - crucially though the refs are mic'd up and you can hear them the whole way through the game including how they talk to the players, how the players talk to them, how they make decisions etc. as a result the level of understanding of the referee and his job is incredibly high to the whole viewing audience and also for the players
