Yes, GAA referees, as a general rule, are paid Euro25 for a League match and Euro40 for a championship appointment for underage games. Soccer referees are on better terms.

Whereas the IRFU rely on the goodwill of volunteers to put themselves in the firing line of angry parents and passionate coaches. It is not a 'hobby' that brings too much job satisfaction.

There is the informative story of a well-known referee in Limerick with an interest in all ball sports. He decided to give rugby a shot until he realised he was losing out on the cash he could receive for taking charge of two or three soccer matches on a Sunday.

It just didn't pay. The greatest drama from Crescent Comprehensive's 9-7 win over Ard Scoil Rís in the Munster Schools Senior Cup quarterfinal on Wednesday centred around the three yellow cards dished out by test match referee Peter Fitzgibbon.

Ard Scoil Rís hooker Dave Twomey collapsed a maul travelling towards his line and second row James Flood could not resist the temptation to use his hands in a ruck. Crescent Comprehensive scrum-half and captain Diarmuid Upton did not roll away in the tackle. There was no controversy over the decisions in themselves for technical offences born out of cynical play on behalf of players trying to find an edge for their team.

"The yellow card was introduced into the game to kill negative play. The third yellow card dished out in the game was probably greater than that for the entire season. It is a matter of consistency, " said a source close to Ard Scoil Rís. "There was no fourth official at the match last Wednesday to monitor the seven minutes that the binned players were supposed to be absent from the play. If you introduce yellow cards the full system should be implemented. Otherwise, it just doesn't work.

"To some extent, the Alain Rollands and Dave McHughs of this world are refereeing a different game to, shall we say, the aspiring referees that are learning the game. If players are going to get these referees for the cup, then surely they should have the experience a few times during the season.

"Every referee has his nuances and it is not fair to supplant these referees on the players for what are, essentially, the biggest games of their lives. It leads to confusion and frustration.

"On the other hand, it is not fair on the referees to put them into a situation, ie the Schools Cup, without having taken control of a match or two during the season.

"Don't get me wrong! We are very grateful for the presence of these referees. They are knowledgeable and impartial. It is no slur on them. It is no slur on the Munster Referees Association. It is the system.

"Money should be judiciously used to encourage people to become referees.

The top referees of this world are paid by the International Rugby Board. The union should allow some system of paying the referees at the lower levels in the way that soccer and GAA referees receive a small fee for their time."

There were many cynical and technical infringements regularly on display in the opening round of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup, but referees appeared to dislike going for their pockets, including world-class referee Alain Rolland, who was the man in the middle for the St Michael's College versus St Gerard's game.

The fact is that there was not a single yellow shown in the eight first-round cup matches. Players are the same the world over. They will get away with what they can get away with. When referees are reluctant to go to their pockets, it sends out a clear signal of leniency.

"When you have a man coming in from an international, he may appear not to be au fait with the slight rule changes in schools rugby, " said a Leinster Schools senior coach. "For instance, Rolland wasn't miked up with his touch judges for the St Michael's-St Gerard's match.

So, should he be doing more scanning? When you are refereeing a schools friendly, you have to scan wide for every possible infringement because you are on your own."

It is that feeling of isolation that can make the job of a rugby referee more demanding than it has to be.

They need support from the schools. They need support from the coaches. Most of all, they need support from the union.