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Nigel Owens: Why Willis was carded and Fickou wasn't for tip tackle

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Nigel Owens has assessed why England’s Jack Willis was yellow-carded in Dublin for an incident that was similar to the un-carded intervention by Gael Fickou of France in Paris during round five of the Guinness Six Nations. Back-rower Willis was sin-binned in the closing stages of the English loss to Ireland for his tip tackle on Ross Byrne. However, a penalty was only awarded against French midfielder Fickou when he upended Wales’ Alun Wyn Jones in an earlier match last Saturday.

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What gives? Test centurion referee Owens claimed the incidents were slightly different which was why they had different refereeing outcomes, Jaco Pepyer brandishing the yellow card at the Aviva Stadium and Nic Berry keeping his cards in his pocket at Stade de France.

Speaking on the latest episode of Whistle Watch, Owens explained: “Jack Willis yellow card, is it a deserved one? There is pick and drive, there is a turn but there is no high degree of danger and head contact into the ground and therefore you come from the red card to the yellow. So, yellow card? The correct decision.

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“Fickou and Alun Wyn Jones, some will be asking why isn’t this a yellow card then? Well, it is slightly different. We have a lift, Alun Wyn Jones is quite low to the ground, he comes down pretty safely on his back, very low degree of danger.

“With Fickou, it is more of the dynamic of the tackle rather than tipping and turning and driving. So, here in this instance, a very low degree of danger and sanction is a penalty only. The correct decision as well.”

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Having spoken at length at the top of his programme about last weekend’s main talking point, the red-carding of England’s Freddie Steward, Owens rounded off the episode by running the rule over two other round-five incidents a knock-on by France’s Uini Atonio and a try-saving intervention by England’s Maro Itoje.

“Atonio knock-on, was it deliberate? Is he trying to regather that ball and is he in a realistic position to regather that ball? We don’t have a slap, we don’t have a deliberate knock in that sense, so we go onto the next stage. What was he trying to do? Was he trying to regather that ball and if so, did he have a realistic chance of regathering it?

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“When you look at that I would say he probably does so to me that is not an act of a deliberate knock-on, and it is enough of an opportunity for him to regather that ball. Therefore, a knock-on only is the correct decision.

“Itoje, quick tap, was he offside? Itoje is on the try line so if the quick tap is five metres out you don’t have to be 10 metres back because the try line is closer than 10 metres so he is back on the try line, he is legal.

“Once he comes up to make the tackle, Farell, who is now retreating, is then put onside once Itoje, who is onside, passes him. So, the tackle and the turnover is completely legal, they are onside. Play on, goalline dropout.”

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Bull Shark 3 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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