A red card could ruin the Rugby World Cup final – the game needs fairer, safer rulings on the field
Close to the final whistle, with France now up 96-0, the Namibian desert turned yellower still.
- Close to the final whistle, with France now up 96-0, the Namibian desert turned yellower still.
- Wayne Barnes, who will referee the RWC final between New Zealand and South Africa this weekend, is also a barrister by trade.
- As such, he will know where the onus should lie when critical decisions need to be taken in a trial between two elite teams.
Unfair and unsafe
- The spectacle is lost whenever there is a mismatch in numbers.
- In a collision contest, 14 against 15 hurts the game; 13 against 15 is unwatchable – and dangerous.
- As one would expect, it is generally the weaker of the two teams, already struggling to put up a defence, that concedes penalties and haemorrhages players.
- It is also unsafe.
Bad rules mean bad results
- It put Dupont out of the quarterfinal with South Africa, and may have accounted for France’s knife-edge loss in that game.
- If they are specified in the rules, the rules need revisiting.
- Yes, rules are central to the integrity of the game.
- When calls are marginal and the impacts disproportionate, however, the rules need to change.
Rugby can learn from other codes
- Each week of the playing season the AFL tribunal assesses the citations and dishes out penalties where warranted – typically suspensions – based on thorough, defended inspection.
- Read more:
Professional men's rugby has major financial issues which need to be tackledRugby union would be improved if sendings off were reserved for genuinely bad actors.
- If the offence occurs elsewhere, rugby could borrow from AFL, with a penalty given 50 metres closer to the offending team’s goal line (up to the five-metre line).
- No matter where on the field the crime occurred, a penalty try should be awarded between the posts.
Hopes for a fair final
- This will be especially important at the Stade de France in Paris this weekend when the All Blacks and South Africa both go for a record fourth Rugby World Cup title.
- Only if the case is beyond doubt on the visible evidence should there be an unlevel playing field for ten or more minutes.
Clive Thompson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.