Ref Watch: The obvious question as unwanted Six Nations history made
Not too many years ago two red cards – or sendings off as they then would have been termed – in the opening 11 minutes of a Six Nation match would have seen questions asked in Parliament.
It is therefore reflective of the extent to which the war being waged on head injuries has changed the nature of rugby union at the highest level that ITV’s half-time analysis barely mentioned the early dismissals of Scotland’s Grant Gilchrist and France’s Mohamad Houas for dangerous tackles.
Putting myself in referee Nika Amashukeli’s shoes, I can only imagine how the pulse would have raced had I ever been in the same situation. As a referee you desperately want the players to determine the outcome of the contest, not your decision-making, so issuing a red card historically was an absolute last resort.
A little of this old-school refereeing psyche clearly still remains since the Georgian whistler, when considering an appropriate sanction for Houas today, and Wayne Barnes in round two when incorrectly (according to the citing commission which followed and most reasonable onlookers) scaling Uini Atonio’s punishment for a similar crime down to a yellow card, both sought to avoid brandishing red if at all possible.
In addition to this being our natural instinct as referees, with huge crowds having paid a lot of money to watch the match live and a TV audience seeking entertainment, both Barnes and Amashukeli will have been subliminally aware that a lop-sided contest often follows a red card.
Being honest, with the amount of red cards now being shown, this traditional refereeing mindset is dated and needs to be completely left where it was born in the amateur era.
Referees, players and fans must all now accept that law makers have gone in a new direction based on science and the input of thousands of hours of considered opinion from players and coaches. Showing a red card is now a fact of refereeing life which can only be viewed as a process based on an evaluation of factual evidence followed by an appropriate sanction with no stigma attached.
It was interesting to compare the approaches of the touch judges and TMO supporting the relatively inexperienced (in top-flight international terms) Amashukeli today with the input of those who made up Barnes’ team during the Ireland-France game a fortnight ago.
Being charitable, today’s team of officials learned from the Aviva Stadium incident which saw Barnes hone in on a small amount of Atonio’s initial contact being on the chest/shoulder prior to his arm smashing into the ball-carrier’s head, and as such put forward an interpretation of the incident which justified the card being downgraded from red to yellow.
On that occasion, from what we heard on the ref mic, none of the other officials challenged Barnes with an alternative view. By contrast when Amashukeli suggested little force was present, both Karl Dickson and Andrea Piardi immediately and correctly voiced the opinion that Houas deserved a red card as no mitigation existed.
An alternative scenario is that TJ Dickson was the most experienced of the three onfield officials and as such felt able to contradict and challenge the view of the Georgian in a way which would be much harder for any touch judge to do with the world’s most-capped referee who – lest we forget – is also a veteran of four World Cups.
In places social media has voiced the opinion that Amashukeli deserves criticism for not interpreting the direct head-on-head contact, which happened when Scotland scrum-half Ben White was a static rather than moving target, as meriting red. While he undoubtedly had this call wrong initially, I prefer the view that the team of officials got it right – which is why they are there.
No doubt the ‘game’s gone soft’ brigade will again be out in force following two red cards neither of which 20 years ago would have merited much more than a penalty.
However, the question I find myself asking almost every time we get a sending-off following the use of the head contact protocol is why are modern players not learning?
If you go into a tackle as Grant Gilchrist did in an upright position with your arm tucked to your side the outcome is often problematic. If you fail to bend or go at chest level with a swinging arm there is no margin left for error when a split-second alteration is required due to a change of direction or height. As for a Houas-style assault, words fail me.
The changes made to how the game is refereed have followed significant consultation with players and coaches of the current generation. They have been not been imposed by a group of 60-something, gin-swilling blazered buffoons or by crackpot university researchers in some black box think tank.
Most relevantly, these changes have been done to improve the safety of the sport for those currently playing and the image of the sport for parents whose children represent the next generation of club and professional players.
Within the professional game there seems a disconnect between the Steve Thompson/Michael Lipman group whose struggles with early-onset dementia and a significant amount of lifestyle issues, who generate so much totally deserved sympathy, and the outlook of the current generation of players.
Perhaps they don’t believe the research or the images of England’s World Cup-winning hooker which fill our newspapers, computers and TV screens? Whatever the reason, they seem totally unable to make the connection between the type of head trauma their actions could cause to each other and where that took the ever-growing band of former players who will soon fill the courts with legal action against rugby union’s governing bodies.
The alternative – that rugby union cannot be played without forceful impacts to the head – takes us to a place where none of us want to go, since it potentially spells the end of the sport since the players will become uninsurable. Something has to give.
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
45 Go to comments