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Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care can count himself as very fortunate that he was not red-carded against Northampton Saints on Saturday at Twickenham.
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The 37-year-old was yellow-carded by referee Karl Dickson in the first half of the contest with the Gallagher Premiership leaders for a high tackle on Courtney Lawes (you read that correctly), before finding himself in hot water in the second stanza.
A Northampton break was brought to a halt after Care dived straight over a ruck to stop his former England teammate Alex Mitchell from playing the ball.
Dickson immediately reached for his pocket to show a yellow card, which would have resulted in a red, but was sidetracked by an altercation. Upon review, the decision was that Care would not be yellow-carded, much to the dismay of the commentary team of David Flatman and Brian O’Driscoll. But Care disagrees.
Despite sporting a grin on his face after being substituted immediately after this incident, Care said after the match that he believed the ball was out.
Match Summary 
1
Penalty Goals
2
6
Tries
4
4
Conversions
3
0
Drop Goals
0
157
Carries
101
10
Line Breaks
11
6
Turnovers Lost
17
4
Turnovers Won
1
“I thought the ball was out,” he said to Ugo Monye on TNT Sport
“Straight bat, I thought the ball was out.
“That one [the Lawes tackle] the rules are the rules. He’s a big lad. I don’t know how I got high enough to hit his head. But it’s one of those. I’ve got to get my head out the way and go a bit lower. Disappointed myself there.
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“This one [the ruck infringement], I think the ball’s out. I’m trying to get the ball.”
Pundit Lawrence Dallaglio gave his take on the events though, and certainly did not agree with Care.
“I spent a lot of time on a yellow card and I can assure you, after a linebreak, that is a stonewall yellow card,” the former England captain said.
Care did concede that the squabble after his dubious rucking may have been his saving grace.
The England centurion added: “There was a little fracas after which maybe helped me out.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Shame. Hope something else can be arranged.
2 Go to commentsTitans of under-20s rugby …. Reporters tired verbiage akin to calling every player a “star” and any Fijian side as ”Flying”. The French English and Irish are the Titans of U20 rugby. Noone in the South is now. This tournament is however, good prep to regain titan status.
1 Go to commentsWill be humbling coming back and playing second fiddle to Dmac.
2 Go to commentsSounds like quite a bit of development has occurred regarding Mo’unga’s situation. Either NZR has stepped up their offer (big time) or RMo has had a reality check on what it will be like to be outside of the high performance environment of AB rugby. Maybe both. It reads like there are only a few remaining details to be sorted out before it is a done deal.
2 Go to commentsCurrently, a prop that has been substituted can go back on field if his original replacement gets injured. Can a red carded prop go back if his replacement gets injured, or will it be uncontested scrums?
12 Go to commentsWhat about a free kick from a scrum? Can you call another scrum? Or are they just giving straight penalties now?
32 Go to commentsLoved that comment by Andrew that the ‘water boys’ rule was changed in 2020 just to stymie the Boks!
32 Go to commentsOne of the best the Boks have ever produced. PSDT has an engine that goes non-stop for the full 80 min.
5 Go to commentsThe real deal.
5 Go to commentsIt’s been said that Nienaber will head back to SA too before next World Cup , hoarding all the amazing IP gained in Irish system … get a grip … Irish system needs to Milk the likes of Barrett . First time a leading all Black in his prime has gone to Ireland for any period of time . Enjoy it .
21 Go to comments20 min RC is the only good solution of a bunch of bad solutions. Ridiculous that it has taken this long and caused so many uneven contests. In general these are all very good changes - one is surprised that NH brokers were able to see sense at long last.
12 Go to comments“While a red card will mean a temporary team disadvantage, the replacement system will focus punishment on the offending player instead of disrupting the game itself.” This might work for amateur rugby, where players just want to be on the pitch for as long as possible, but hopefully we’ve got to a point where top level professionals care about the success of their team much more than about whether they personally are on the pitch or not.
12 Go to commentsa lot of focus on the targeting of south africa, but aspects of this are positive. The croc roll; the offside law; and time limits on set pieces are all good. calling for a mark off kick offs is baffling, but I guess we’ll see how it plays out in practice
32 Go to commentsSpeeding the game up is great, but I think we will find that the increase in viewership this year mostly comes down to the competition being more competitive…the fall of the Crusaders has been a boon for viewership. This should be at the heart of super rugby changes - how to make the comp more even
23 Go to commentsThe fact that the press were largely to blame for his taking a break is nothing short of disgusting. He’s made a few mistakes but difficult to name a player of any substance who gives it a full go hasn’t also made mistakes? On behalf of a large number of Bokke fans, bring back Farrell !!!!!
2 Go to commentsPSTD is a fantastic flanker. He could benefit from a bit of self-promotion / flair and he is not quite the danger man that Ardie is. That said, he is my 1st pick to build a backrow around. His speed and hustle made up for Duane who got quite a bit slower at the 8.
5 Go to commentssurprised, disco lights haven't been banned by world rugby board
32 Go to commentsToo many changes. Too often. I’m tired of this WR administration. How do we vote these fockers out? Bill needs to go.
32 Go to commentsDu Toit, 2 time W.Cup winner yet rarely mentioned a “Great “…if one looks back on his stellar carrier perhaps someone will one day elevate him to “Richie” status…a quiet, polite yet devastating loose forward that knew action speaks louder than words..
5 Go to commentsI like the offside rule, but this won't affect my team because all their kicks gets chased and that putts everyone on side. Lekker manne!
32 Go to comments