NSW Waratahs coach Michael Cheika says Super Rugby referees are over-reacting to strong tackles and making Super Rugby soft.

Cheika said panicky officials were turning the competition into touch football after experienced referee Steve Walsh watched a replay before issuing Waratahs hooker John Ulugia a yellow card on Saturday night for a jarring and seemingly legal chest-high tackle on Queensland winger Rod Davies.

Cheika compared Walsh’s decision to umpire Aleem Dar missing England batsman’s Stuart Broad’s blatant edge in the first Ashes Test against Australia at Trent Bridge.

“Everyone saw it. I don’t know if it was Aleem Dar proportions, but it was pretty crooked,” Cheika said after the Waratahs’ season-ending 14-12 loss to the Reds in Sydney.

“He had a second look as well. It was interesting listening to the third umpire, the TMO. He was saying: `Do you want me to comment, Steve?’

“And he said: `No, no, no. I’ll have another look.’ So he didn’t want him to comment obviously.

“But I think everyone saw he put his arms around him. I don’t know whether they should have had a kiss or not while they were in there.

“It’s a shame because hardness is going out of the game.

“There’s nothing illegal about it. It’s a good, hard tackle and that’s what we try to get guys to do at training.

“Then in a game, as soon as someone puts in a good shot on, everyone panics. Like, give him the sin bin.

“I don’t know, touch footy next year maybe.”

Cheika also called for touch judges to have their rights to intervene on offside plays removed, claiming they were too inconsistent.

“I was really disappointed for some of the penalties for offside. They were absolutely wrong,” he said.

“Then, when they (the Reds) are clearly offside at the end right in front of the posts, they don’t give it.

“When we practice the hard line speed (in defence), what’s the point?

“There’s no point practising a hard line speed if you get penalised because, when they turn around, you look like you’re in front when you’re actually not when you watch the video.

“Maybe we’l go back to playing drift defence like the 1980s. Before that, I’d prefer to get the microphones turned off on the sidelines.

“I think they (should) leave the ref decide.”