by Premiership coaches believe existing red card protocols should be changed in a bid to maintain ’15 v 15′ on the pitch and avoid ‘destroying the game’ after three major finals last season were spoiled by evictions.
Bath prop Beno Obano was sent off midway through the first half of last season’s sell-out Premiership final – narrowly won by Northampton – while Sam Cane was sent off in New Zealand’s defeat in World Cup final against South Africa. Toulouse’s Richie Arnold also saw red during extra time in their Champions Cup final victory over Leinster. All three of these decisions were correct decisions under existing laws, but none constituted blatant acts of violence.
Bath director of rugby Johann van Graan believes “the game is now the cleanest and safest it has ever been” but added that “we should think about how we can mitigate collisions involuntary”, emphasizing that rugby is a collision. sport, played at a ferocious pace that currently leaves players with little margin for error.
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Exeter’s Rob Baxter, meanwhile, cited the NFL where a player can be sent off for an act of foul play but is immediately replaced, suggesting that red cards ruining showpiece finals were an inevitable outcome given what currently constitutes an expulsion offense.
Earlier this year, World Rugby approved behind-closed-doors trials of 20-minute red cards – which allow the sent-off player to be replaced once the 20 minutes have expired – following its success in Super Rugby. A recommendation on a global trial will be made to the World Rugby council in November. It has also been used in the Rugby Championship, but although it has support in the southern hemisphere, it faces opposition in the north, with fears that it is a show of leniency to with regard to high tackles amid disputes over concussions.
“I think there should potentially be a different color card, because if I hit someone or if a player hits a player, I think it should be a straight red and it shouldn’t come back into the game,” Van Graan said. “However, if there is a collision and the player is three centimeters wrong, I believe we as a game want to see 15 versus 15, so I think a player – or another player – should to be allowed back. That’s way beyond my decision making process. If you ask me, that’s my opinion.
“I believe that the red card in the World Cup final, in the Champions Cup final and in the Premiership final, it is not a deliberate act of foul play, it is a dynamic sport and the players get it wrong. It’s something we need to continue to develop, but the beauty of rugby is the big collisions, the scrums, the mauls, so you have to find the balance between the two.
Baxter, for his part, echoed Van Graan’s views and suggested that players view existing red card protocols as harsh. “American football is the perfect example for me,” he said. “They have the same problem with head injuries and concussions. If you commit a criminal act in an American football game for illegal head contact or anything, that player is out of the game. But you can replace him. So they’re not destroying the game for something they consider to be an element of unfair play. I don’t see why this couldn’t be adapted to rugby.
