Some of us who have opposed the introduction of a 20-minute red card were compelled to view this compromised concept in a new light when Garry Ringrose’s on-field yellow card for his head-on-head hit on Ben Thomas in Cardiff was upgraded to a red.
One of the game’s loudest cheers from the Irish supporters in the Principality Stadium greeted the sight of Bundee Aki coming on in the 52nd minute, for he was the ideal man to bring Ireland back to 15 players. Ireland duly won and we’ll never know if they would have done so had it not been for the introduction of the vexed 20-minute red card.
Sam Warburton, true to type, then provided a balanced and erudite defence of the 20-minute red card, stating that it was designed to provide sufficient sanction for the kind of accidental head-on-head perpetrated by Ringrose.
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The player himself, of course, could not return to the field and had to wait until the following Thursday to learn his fate at an independent disciplinary hearing, where it was determined that Ringrose’s actions warranted a mid-range entry-point ban of six weeks.
This was reduced to three in mitigation of Ringrose’s exemplary disciplinary record (one yellow card with Leinster in his entire pro career), his guilty plea and apology.
Ringrose was also eligible for the World Rugby coaching intervention programme, aka “tackle school”, and, if that is completed, his suspension will be reduced from three matches to two, meaning Ringrose would be eligible to return for Ireland’s concluding Six Nations game on St Patrick’s weekend in Rome.
His suspension also included Leinster’s intervening URC game against Cardiff at the Aviva Stadium this Saturday, as well as the Ireland-France match at the same venue next Saturday. This has caused annoyance in France, as Roman Ntamack’s two-game ban for his red card in the opening game between France and Wales, also for a dangerous tackle on Ben Thomas, was stipulated to be France’s next two Six Nations matches and did not include a Toulouse Top 14 game.
In this, the French absolutely had a point, since this discrepancy in the two verdicts highlights the inconsistencies in the disciplinary process and the need to make it more streamlined.
But in many other respects, it could be argued that Ntamack was fortunate, and that the identical punishments of 20-minute red cards and two-game suspensions meted out to the French outhalf and Ringrose are not in keeping with their actions.
In the 67th minute on the opening night in the Stade de France, in the build-up to France’s sixth of seven tries, Ntamack was blindsided just after releasing a pass – in came a big shot by Thomas that, although a fraction late, was not dangerous nor deemed foul play.
Furthermore, it didn’t stop Ntamack rising to his feet and, a couple of phases later, crosskicking for Émilien Gailleton to gather and score.
Less than two minutes later, Thomas chased and gathered a chip by his scrumhalf Rhodri Williams before grubbering ahead just as he was being tackled by Nolan Le Garrec. The Welsh outhalf was also caught on his face by Ntamack’s right shoulder and was left with a bloodied nose. Thomas did dip a little but Ntamak’s “tackling” arm was dead straight and there was no attempt to wrap.
Referee Paul Williams deemed the offence worthy of a yellow card and an off-field, bunker review. It was subsequently upgraded to a 20-minute red card.
Ringrose’s yellow card was for a head-on-head hit on Thomas that, by its very nature, had to be deemed accidental or, at worst, mildly reckless. No player wants to risk hurting his own head.
Ringrose slipped, so much so his knee was almost on the ground, and Thomas slightly dipped fractionally before contact, whereas Ntamack was upright.
Then there’s the tackle school, which is cynically and widely regarded as something of a joke, although World Rugby maintain that their coaching intervention programme has been designed by former players such as Vincent Clerc, Richie Gray, and Richard Hill, and is enthusiastically enforced by coaches and defence coaches, sometimes with the assistance of psychologists and video analysts. Almost 300 players have completed the course, claim the governing body, and they have to submit videos showing they have done so.
It is also worth bearing in mind that the English under-20 flanker Junior Kpoku also received a yellow card that was upgraded to a red card and he got the exact same punishment as Ringrose, namely a mid-entry point of six weeks reduced to a three-game ban in mitigation and with a further week removed on completing the “tackle school”.
All bias aside, honestly, Ringrose’s offence was not in the same league as Ntamack’s and Kpoku’s. By its very nature, catching a player with a shoulder to the head is altogether more open to accusations of foul play.
And therein lies the rub. On-field yellow cards subject to a review cannot be upgraded to a full red card, only to a 20-mintue red card. But, if the examples of the 20-minute red cards for Ntamack and Kpoku are any yardstick, referees will henceforth almost never brandish an automatic red card.
Instead they will pass the responsibility on to the bunker review system, and then all offenders will be bracketed with the same six-game, reduced to three, reduced to two suspension, when clearly the lines will become even more blurred.
As feared, therefore, World Rugby adopting the 20-minute red cards will run counter to their own campaign to make the game safer.
