The relatively new 20-minute red card and bunker system were severely tested in Soldier Field last Saturday. It took only moments for the procedure to come under pressure.
Dan Jones was the foul play review officer (FPRO) for the clash of Ireland and New Zealand. His upgrading of Tadhg Beirne’s yellow to a red card was wrong – plain and simple. Welshman Jones is a perfectly pleasant guy who used to referee in the United Rugby Championship, but, having missed out on appointments in recent years, he now officiates in England.
The drama started even before the FPRO was called up. Referee Pierre Brousset and TMO Ian Tempest, not helped by the atrocious communication and replay system, eventually decided Beirne’s action reached the yellow card threshold. If it did, it was a lighter shade of pale and the bunker should have left it at that level.
What I saw was an accident. Beauden Barrett has been admirably quick to say he wasn’t expecting the ball – and, no doubt, Beirne wasn’t expecting him to have it. Imagine, for a moment, Beirne was the ball carrier. Does that mean a red for Barrett? Like heck it does.
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The collision was at the lower end of force and, given all the circumstances, the red card should be struck out, expunged from the Irish player’s record.
There is a growing tendency for referees to behave like Pontius Pilate, washing their hands of foul play, leaving the tricky calls to be made elsewhere. Often, it’s as if they haven’t seen stuff that is clearly dangerous; they wait for the TMO to tell them before whistling. If the TMO fails to come in, then it’s play on.
This critical decision was made by the junior partner in the team of five officials. That in itself is bizarre and puts a solid question mark over the whole process. Jones was clearly incorrect in terming Beirne’s action as having a “high degree of danger”. Once he arrived at that conclusion, the outlook was inevitably grim.
There is, though, a wider problem. I am referring to an insufficient depth of quality in the match officials chart. Because of this, it’s hard to avoid appointing some officials who have little or no zero experience of international rugby. A number of officials fall into this category and while they are doing their best, it’s high risk.
Perhaps the answer is to bin the bunker and hand these decisions to the TMO. He would simply need an assistant to follow play, while the TMO studies the dangerous offence.
While Beirne was sorely missed, it’s highly unlikely that Ireland – who were disappointing and below-par – would have won the match if he had remained on the pitch. After all, one swallow never makes a summer.
I have been against the 20-minute red card, for often explained reasons. But if we’re going to see more of this nonsense, then the road taken by Saul of Tarsus might beckon.
A huge amount of preparatory work is done by elite match officials in the area of in-game sanctions. They visualise and study foul-play incidents, all under the excellent guidance of World Rugby’s Joël Jutge. It’s impossible to believe Beirne’s action fits their criteria for a red card. Also, Brousset is still settling into this exalted level. He has quite some distance to go before he establishes himself.
There were other things in the performances of the match officials which should have been picked up. Here’s a couple. Players left the lineout early, by actually jumping out of it, then rejoined at pace to build maul momentum – it wasn’t noticed by any official. When Josh van der Flier was flattened as he retreated to his onside line, the referee and his supporting officials all remained silent. Ireland could have done with a penalty at that point.
The Lions test matches were controlled by a New Zealander, a Georgian and an Italian – nobody from France for the first time in an age. Although it was in days of yore, Frenchman Francis Palmade still ranks as one of the best ever. Splendidly attired in all royal blue, he controlled four Lions tests, two in New Zealand and two in South Africa. He was before his time in giving clear signals to explain his calls. Realising that his lack of English was a potential hindrance for players, he was inspired by a theatrical performance of a famous countryman – mime artist Marcel Marceau.
Brousset will return to centrestage later in the month when he takes charge of England v Argentina. It will be no place for the faint of heart. Twickenham rarely is.
On Saturday afternoon, I tuned in to the online coverage of Munster v Argentina. The last time these two teams met, in 1973, it was a filthy, disgraceful encounter. The then Irish Times sports editor, the urbane Paul McWeeney, was moved to write that Argentina “provided a really ugly display of vicious use of the boot, shoulder and fist”.
Thankfully, things have moved on, with just a couple of dodgy tackles in a match well controlled by the Australian Angus Gardner. It was a terrific encounter, won 31-28 by Munster, notable for a fine display by their outhalf Tony Butler. His performance was in contrast to that of Jack Crowley in Chicago.
This month sees the return of referees Luke Pearce and Andrew Brace, both of whom were sidelined for the Rugby Championship. Brace has been open, accepting that his last Six Nations was not good enough. He now has two matches, Italy v Australia and Scotland v Argentina. Very sound performances will undoubtedly see him appointed to the Six Nations. Much is at stake, but the trick is to relax, to referee as if it’s just another game of rugby. My money is on him to do it.
