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Ref Watch: Peyper sees red as cards fly and penalty tries go a begging

By Paul Smith
Referee Jaco Peyper looks on during the International Test match between the New Zealand All Blacks and Ireland at Forsyth Barr Stadium on July 09, 2022 in Dunedin, New Zealand. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

Jaco Peyper is one of the most experienced officials in world rugby and he needed to draw on all his skills to handle a test match crammed with incident and controversy which eventually delivered Ireland’s first win in New Zealand – at the fourteenth time of asking.

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The head contact protocols make more cards and increased use of the TMO inevitable – at least until players and coaches are able to make significant changes to tackle technique – and referees have also as a result had to adapt.

Red cards used to be a very occasional occurrence and what was perhaps not widely appreciated was the extent to which a referee’s concentration and subsequent performance could be impacted by the unsettling effect of sending a player off. Did I get that right? Could I have done something to prevent it happening? Focusing on the rest of the match rather than dwelling on the red card was a skill in itself.

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In the modern world, such are the frequency of these big calls, officials deal with them far more regularly and are therefore less likely to suffer subsequent concentration issues. It is accuracy in both process and outcome which is of greater concern to World Rugby’s elite group of whistlers, so how did Peyper plus TMO and touch judges fare?

Leicester Fainga’anuka yellow card
Towards the end of the opening quarter TMO Tom Foley intervened to ask Peyper to view Fainga’anuka’s late challenge on Mack Hansen.

“He’s never targeting the ball,” Foley advised.

Ireland’s winger was contacted quite some time after he had kicked the ball by Fainga’anuka who had taken off in an attempt to affect a charge-down.

In days gone by, because the All Black was already off the ground – and committed – when Hansen kicked the ball, the clash would usually have been deemed accidental.

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However, the modern safety-based approach to head contact requires players to be responsible for the outcome of their actions – and not act recklessly – even when intent is not present.

Replays showed that Fainga’anuka’s arm clearly impacted Hansen’s head, which snapped backwards, however this happened after it first contacted the Irishman’s chest. This provided just enough mitigation for the officials to downgrade the card from red to yellow.

“Not a high level of danger,” Peyper concluded, but as Sky’s half-time analysis suggested it was a borderline call.

Possible Ireland penalty try?
Ofa Tu’ungafasi was yellow carded after Foley asked Peyper to take a look at his off-the-ball tackle on Gary Ringrose.

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The British Lions centre was on the inside shoulder of the ball carrier around eight metres from the home line when he was taken out.

Given the incident’s proximity to the home try-line a yellow card was inevitable based on the degree of cynicism involved. However, was there also a case for a penalty try?

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Peyper viewed the incident from a wider angle and in both slo-mo and real time in an attempt to ascertain whether the All Black cover would have got to Ringrose and decided it would.

The key point here is whether the offence prevented a ‘probable’ (not definite) try. So would Ringrose have probably received a pass, would he probably have caught it and would he have probably reached the line before the cover got to him?

On all available evidence Peyper concluded not – many including myself and co-commentator Alan Quinland who said: “There’s no way anyone’s getting to Ringrose if he gets the pass,” will disagree.

Angus Ta’avai red card
Under the head protocol directives and law as written this is as cast-iron a red card as we will ever see.

The All Black temporary replacement – who was on the field because of by Fainga’anuka’s sin-binning – made no attempt to bend into his tackle on Ringrose and a high-impact clash of heads resulted.

Peyper and Foley followed the protocol to the letter, checking to see if Ringrose had either dipped in height or changed direction at the last moment, but when no mitigation was present a red card duly followed.

Ardie Savea becomes the fall guy 
The officiating that followed then included two errors in process.

With both tight heads now off the field, the next two scrums were uncontested, so as per the incident which affected Italy in the Six Nations, New Zealand should have removed two additional players when they brought on loose head Aidan Ross as a second temporary front row replacement leaving 12 – not 13 – players on the pitch for the brief period until Fainga’anuka returned from the bin.

In addition to blindside flanker Dalton Papalii, who had previously exited to allow Ta’avai to cover for Fainga’anuka, the Kiwis were required to take off only the influential Savea.

Ironically, when Savea then attempted a return to the fray when by Fainga’anuka exited the sin bin he was forced by the officiating team to leave the field since New Zealand then had 15 – instead of 14 – players on the pitch. However, in law it should have been the originally-replaced Papalii who was prohibited from returning to the fray.

In summary this meant New Zealand played around two minutes with 13 instead of 12 players, while Savea rather than Papalii should have been allowed to return.

<a href=
All Blacks” width=”1920″ height=”1080″ /> Ardie Savea of the All Blacks (L) and Rieko Ioane of the All Blacks in the huddle after the match during the International Test match between the New Zealand All Blacks and Ireland at Forsyth Barr Stadium on July 09, 2022 in Dunedin, New Zealand. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Scrums help the flow
This was a thrilling match for the neutral, and in no small part this was due to how little time was wasted at the set-piece.

Peyper clearly had the front rows onside with his required engagement process and as a result only one of 17 scrums had to be reset, while 13 completed without the award of a penalty or free kick.

Strong Management
Peyper is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I really like his strong management style. For those who watched James Doleman’s display during last week’s Australia v England game a massive contrast was evident between a rookie international ref and one with many years behind him.

This was perfectly illustrated by the South African’s conversation with New Zealand skipper Sam Cane during the spell when the Kiwi’s had 13 men.

After penalising the hosts for lifting a leg in a defensive maul close to their own line, Peyper told Cane: “You need to have a serious chat, I’m not going to back off.”

A weaker official would not have countenanced reducing New Zealand to 12 players for one or two technical offences immediately after showing a red card – but Peyper made it abundantly clear that he would grant no such leeway.

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Pens against NZ3442
Pens against Ireland2723

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john 6 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

13 Go to comments
A
Adrian 2 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

13 Go to comments
T
Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 8 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.

29 Go to comments
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