Nigel Owens: Why Willis was carded and Fickou wasn't for tip tackle
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.
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.
“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.”
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?
“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.”
Comments on RugbyPass
What a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
1 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf 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.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
4 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to comments