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Super Rugby Aotearoa's red card sub law has divided opinion
As seen last week with World Rugby’s optional law changes for the Covid-19 pandemic, change isn’t always popular and Super Rugby’s plan to trial different innovations in the upcoming Super Rugby Aotearoa competition has also been met with some rancour.
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While the proposals for a golden point in tied matches and stricter refereeing at the breakdown have not caused a great uproar, the change to the red card punishment has. The new competition will see a red-carded player removed from the game completely but they can be replaced after 20 minutes, meaning the new law sits somewhere between a yellow card and a conventional red.
This has proven to be somewhat polarising, with as many people for as against such a game-changing law. The greatest concern is that the significance of the red card has now been devalued. With the punishment significantly reduced, the feeling is that the safety of the game could be compromised, with some even suggesting this could lead to the tactic of targeting players early on.
This may be a far stretch, as it would still be detrimental to the offending team, but the punishment will undoubtedly be less severe and the consequences of foul play will not be as calamitous. While it may seem inconsequential compared to the possible dangers of this change, there are fears that this may damage the spectacle of the game.
Yellow cards usually force the punished team to adopt a conservative approach during the ten-minute spell, so 20 minutes may lead to large swathes of negative play during the game. However, there is always that risk if a team is reduced to 14 players for the remainder of the game.
Moreover, World Rugby actually addressed this issue last week in their optional laws with the idea of an orange card, although it was not well received. That was slightly different from Super Rugby’s idea, but was nonetheless another halfway house between a yellow and red.
https://twitter.com/jeffneems/status/1267742625227919360?s=20
https://twitter.com/KTjuta/status/1267739168953831424?s=20
No time for the red card rule.
When teams get yellow cards they slow the game down as much as possible til they get their player back. That rule won’t speed anything up.— Rhod Vaughan (@rhodders9) June 2, 2020
Bad idea. Undermines the red card as a deterrent for unsafe play.
— Mark Fairbrass (@BrassHammer) June 2, 2020
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https://twitter.com/jackwleahy/status/1267763968224956416?s=20
IMHO not worth the trial. A red card has never "ruined" a match – the player who commits the red card offense may have. If an incident is worth your team being reduced in numbers that is what should happen. Don't want to be dismissed – don't commit the offense
— Andrew McKenna (@talkMacca) June 2, 2020
If a player commits foul play + is sent off – because of their stupidity/recklessness – it is meant to disadvantage their team, no?
Confused by this 2nd law tweak + the quote: "There are no winners when a player is red carded, but fans, players and coaches want a fair contest." https://t.co/wLHFvr6JQA
— Gary Heatly (@G_HMedia) June 2, 2020
Equally there are those that agree with this red card sub idea, purely because it maintains the spectacle of two even teams going head-to-head.
The draconian approach that officials have taken in recent years has certainly irked some. The 2019 World Cup saw as many red cards – nine – as the previous five tournaments combined, which indicates this stricter approach, particularly regarding the tackle and entry to rucks.
Not only will this new red card ruling allow the punished team to remain competitive, but it avoids the risk of ruining a game for fans, which is integral to the product of sport as a whole.
The focus is now moving towards punishing the player, rather than the team and those watching. It’s worth noting that all but one team that had a player red-carded at the RWC lost their match.
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While some will argue that that is the point of the card, and teams should be punished as well, the wide variety of red card offences today creates a great deal of complexity. For instance, Sebastien Vahaamahina’s wanton and despicable elbow to Aaron Wainwright in the quarter-final was so unnecessary that perhaps the team as a whole should rightly pay the price to ensure acts like that are reduced.
Conversely, a poorly timed tackle, such as Tomas Lavanini’s on Owen Farrell in Argentina’s contest with England, was just a case of poor technique rather than any malice, which is why there are those that appreciate the intentions of Super Rugby in making sure only the player – and not the team – is gravely punished.
This is a superb initiative in Super Rugby Aotearoa which will get things much fairer around the red card — better proportionality while still removing offenders. pic.twitter.com/GfVYqNIttj
— ?? ???? ?????? (@drdeanknight) June 2, 2020
Like red card rule for a couple of reasons including the obvious, punishment for the infringement occurs but avoids uneven numbers for potentially long periods destroying the spectacle of two equal teams in battle.
— ?? ??????? ?? (@LeapingFences) June 2, 2020
Not sure about golden point but I like this red card idea. As long as the longer term player punishment is retained, i see it as fair and should be better for fans who’ve paid to watch a match. https://t.co/bprmpeWizJ
— Simon Laing (@simonrlaing) June 2, 2020
What a time to bring this in. Absolutely destroy a World Cup by handed them out like business cards. Unfortunately too late. #redcard pic.twitter.com/Flc5aliYHx
— Joel (@_J0EL_) June 2, 2020
Like red card rule for a couple of reasons including the obvious, punishment for the infringement occurs but avoids uneven numbers for potentially long periods destroying the spectacle of two equal teams in battle.
— ?? ??????? ?? (@LeapingFences) June 2, 2020
https://twitter.com/HugoGordon1/status/1267764450796412928?s=20
Overall, the feeling is these law changes are a sign of Super Rugby kowtowing to the complaints that red cards ruin matches rather than emphasising the message that red cards are there to serve as a deterrent against dangerous play.
Comments on RugbyPass
If rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
1 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
23 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
1 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
23 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to commentsVern challenging this Blues side might be the edge they need to fulfill their potential. Convincing results from strong D and strong carries are hard to argue against.
1 Go to commentsLove seems to add a strong back field defense with speed to close the gap and tackle to his ability to attack, kick and pass (an accurate long pass). This sets him an edge over some of the other names - JRK in particular. Has to be said that Jordan and Stevenson have also been exposed defensively while Love has yet to face test match intensity. Spoilt for choice.
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