Owen Doyle: Referees should not strive to be everyone’s pal. Foul play needs real disapproval
Dangerous carded actions must get more than just a nonchalant wave of the card from the referee
Owen Doyle: Luke Pearce had a bad day at Thomond Park, including one extremely poor call
Leo Cullen doesn’t need telling that Sam Prendergast needs serious tackle mentoring
Owen Doyle: Scrum is too often an ugly blot on the game, rather than a terrific attacking platform
Joe Schmidt will be examining video of Ireland’s win over Australia with a particular focus on knock-ons
Owen Doyle: Andy Farrell sure to have a word as Sam Prendergast lucky not to see red
Referee Hollie Davidson needs more of a cutting edge when it comes to communication
Owen Doyle: Caelan Doris plays a risky game but match officials found wanting
Ireland’s captain obstructing a potential Argentinian defender for winning try but validity of score not checked
Owen Doyle: Ireland must ensure Scott Barrett’s claim about Joe McCarthy is not swept under the carpet
World Rugby Council’s decisions this week on new laws could have big effects
England vs New Zealand: Players tackling lower leading to more offloads and running
Owen Doyle: A crying shame that World Rugby is not studying the scrum and attempting to restore this pivotal part of the game to its original purpose
Owen Doyle: Video nasties required to show just what merits a red card
Forget words, written or spoken; visuals are needed – clear, unambiguous video clips of what foul play gets what punishment
Owen Doyle: The defining skill of top referees needs to be brought up to speed
‘Too often we see referees falling behind the play, failing to anticipate what should be blindingly obvious’
Defusing rugby’s bomb squad: Revised replacement rules needed to protect player wellbeing
Sweeping replacements up front mean fatiguing opponents face what amounts to a new opposing pack
Owen Doyle: World Rugby needs to stick to its guns with no replacement red cards for ‘aggravated foul play’
World governing body’s new proposals could allow a replacement for Cane-like incidents while remaining utterly unforgiving of hard shoulders to the head and similar foul play
Owen Doyle: Brutal and compelling Test was great to watch – but who’d want to play it?
South Africa v Ireland: In their reimagining of the game, it’s very doubtful that this is what World Rugby have in mind
Owen Doyle: Ireland-South Africa match officials unlikely to enjoy performance reviews after poor day
The lack of TMO review for RG Snyman’s tackle on Craig Casey stood out as an incorrect decision
Owen Doyle: Dangerous tackling not limited only to head-high tackles
Owen Doyle: World Rugby would do well to remind us that the full rigour of the game’s laws must be applied to all forms of dangerous tackling
Owen Doyle: Referees must handle outside pressure from South Africa for Ireland Tests
Referee Andrea Piardi had a brilliant game in the URC final, despite the comments of Bulls coach