Use Everything

I was at the England vs All Blacks rugby match at Twickenham at the weekend which wasn't a great result for England but was a good day out. During the day I was struck by the difference between the England Captain (Steve Borthwick)and the New Zealand Captain (Richie McCaw). At Twickenham you can buy a ref mike which allows you to listen to what the ref is saying to the players and the decisions he is making; it helps with the more obscure rules. During the game the only time Borthwick spoke to the ref was when he was getting told off for England infringements, which by this time was too late. McCaw on the other hand was in the ref's ear every time the ball went dead, suggesting that England were up to no good. Now some people call this cheating, or at best unfairly influencing, but I don't know; McCaw has several hundred caps to his name and I think he is making best use of all resources at his disposal, including his relationship with the ref. It makes complete sense if you are wanting to win. If you understand that the ref sees the game in a certain way then you can make sure that you or your players don't do it. Likewise you can mention it when the other lot are doing it.
It's not quite the same in fencing and I am not advocating constant chatting to the ref. But you might want to consider how being courteous might help. Or how the ref calls a right of way. Can he differentiate between a beat and a parry? If not, how does this affect your strategy? Does he favour the attacker or defender? It's not the most vital thing to get to grips with when you're fencing but it is yet another resource at your disposal....