Did you enjoy the November series? Being among the Aviva Stadium crowd was new to me. Walking down Lansdowne Road and in the pubs, you hear people expressing the same frustrations over and over.
World Rugby need to pay heed.
Ireland versus South Africa at the Aviva last Saturday was a test match for the ages. But only if you’ve been watching rugby for an age. Otherwise, it was too confusing with far too many replays.
Is international rugby becoming unwatchable?
The game is in trouble. Genuinely, serious trouble, unless the match officials get a handle on their decision-making process.
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What are we doing here?
By the letter of the law, Matthew Carley can argue that his five yellow cards were legitimate.
I’ve tried talking to Carley in games when he has decided to repeatedly penalise Munster. Too many times, I’ve been waved away without a proper explanation.
The same frustration was visible on Caelan Doris’s face as the Ireland captain sought to engage with the English referee. Nothing was coming back.
I call him a snowball ref. He rolls with decisions made in the opening minutes, even if they don’t apply by the hour mark. One slow call in particular got under my skin. In the second-half Ireland held up the South Africa maul. Before giving the most obvious call – “Scrum Ireland” – Carley ran around the other side, almost looking to reward the Boks.
Whistling Test match rugby is becoming an impossible job. That’s why there are four match officials assisted by a TMO and the newly added in-game Discipline Official.
The system is not working.
Some calls were correct. James Ryan had to go for catching Malcom Marx flush on the face as he cleared a ruck.
Paul O’Connell openly raves about the technique Ryan uses to ensure that Jamison Gibson-Park gets two-second ruck-ball.
This is why you don’t see James carrying the ball as much as he did a few years ago. He’s far too busy removing Malcolm Marxs from rucks.
On Saturday, the ruck in question was long, which forced Ryan to lunge and go off his feet a split-second before Marx could get his body over Ireland’s ball.
The upgrade to red cannot be argued, but a few inches lower and Ryan clears the ruck, Tadhg Beirne’s try stands, Ireland have 15 men on the field and a 7-5 lead.
Sportspeople like to talk about “small margins” – see what we mean?
Jack Crowley was sinbinned for hands in the ruck. Sam Prendergast went for a collection of offsides. Fine. But yellow cards for Andrew Porter and Paddy McCarthy after collapsed scrums both felt unnecessary.
Could Carley have taken a second to survey the scene? Ireland were defending for their lives, and doing so with incredible physical effort against the best visiting scrum the Aviva has ever seen.
Porter is being unfairly punished now. It started at the 2023 World Cup. He’s a strong scrummager. The Bok eight dominated Ireland, as opposed to Porter being minced by Thomas du Toit or Wilco Louw.
The pack missed Ryan and Paddy’s big brother Joe McCarthy.
Maybe Carley will recognise how quick he was to raise his arm for Springbok penalties. Or how lenient he was on Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu despite two marginal collisions with Tommy O’Brien.
To me, it feels like confirmation bias takes hold in his mind. Nothing can be said to reverse his thought process. Penalty after penalty, yellow after yellow, I’ve seen it happen before.
World Rugby needs to address the spectacle: the game gets boring for anyone lacking knowledge of the laws.
Maybe the officials are under too much pressure. Certainly, they are taking too long to reach decisions. The crowd is getting cold. There is a gap to break for refreshments.
Rugby needs speeding up. Perhaps WR could allow the decision-making processes around “potential foul play” to continue parallel to the action. Let the referee focus on the game. Yellow card anyone who meets a certain threshold and play on. Give the TMO and Discipline Official the full 10 minutes to decide if the action merits a 20-minute sanction, a straight red or release the player from the sinbin.
Beirne’s yellow card in Chicago, that was upgraded to red after a “bunker” review, should have set an example: Tadhg made accidental contact with Beauden Barrett’s head. Any referee who has played the game at a half-decent level waves play on. New Zealand penalty at worst.
Instead, the officials on the pitch and upstairs spent an age to go to yellow and eventually red, when it was neither. Worst of all, the process was not explained properly to the American audience. On sensible review, days later, Beirne’s red was rescinded.
Poor start. On it went. Springbok lock Franco Mostert had his red against Italy rescinded as, again, the correct decision took days, not minutes.
They are getting too many big calls wrong.
I can imagine Andy Farrell’s team talk at half-time on Saturday. 19-7 on the scoreboard, down to 12 players, and the crowd fully behind his team, Faz was only delivering one message: what an opportunity this is – embrace the chaos.
I thought Ireland’s defence, yards from their own line, as the Springboks pummeled away, set them up for what lies ahead.
In February, the Six Nations kicks off in Paris on a Thursday with England at Twickenham 16 days later and Italy in between. Plenty more chaos ahead.
The hidden benefit of losing to New Zealand and South Africa this month is players outside a seemingly cemented squad will see cracks. Privately, half the Munster pack should aim to muscle their way into contention.
Paddy McCarthy showed what is possible. His turnover on the Irish try line was the act of a veteran flanker, not a young prop. Porter has a genuine rival at loose head now. More importantly, Andrew need not be flogged for 75 minutes.
Farrell will not hesitate to drop any one of his squad. Smack in the middle of the World Cup cycle, Tom Farrell and Stuart McCloskey had chances to claim the 12 jersey but I don’t see how Ireland show up in Paris next February without Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw.
All the centres mentioned above, along with Garry Ringrose, are over 30. Best of luck convincing the Ireland coaches that Aki, Ringrose or Henshaw are not worthy of selection. Age is irrelevant to Farrell but the younger players in the provinces should see an opportunity.
Someone always fills the gap. Peter O’Mahony retired and that allowed Ryan Baird to be the most prominent Irish forward this month, around the pitch and on opposition throws.
Baird broke his leg against South Africa. It is a blow for Leinster but, potentially, it is an opportunity for Tom Ahern.
I’ve loads of time for Tom. Like Baird, he is rangy and full of aggression.
There are alternatives beneath the surface. Brian Gleeson and Edwin Edogbo looked ready to be capped as they flung themselves into Leinster forwards during Munster’s recent win at Croke Park.
The Ireland squad will naturally evolve between now and the World Cup. Injuries tend to force change before anything else.
Clearly, the Aviva crowd is not done with this team. They appreciated how the players battled the Springboks, despite being men down as the best team in the world came to Dublin for a statement win.
