Rugby World Cup could feature radical red card upgrade system
World Rugby is exploring an innovative law change that would see yellow cards upgraded to reds by television officials at this year’s World Cup, Telegraph Sport understands.
The move would alter the handling of controversial dismissals such as Freddie Steward’s for England against Ireland last weekend. The governing body will come to a decision over the next two months after exploring logistical hurdles and consulting with stakeholders, including players and coaches.
There is still a way to go for the off-field upgrades to be in place at the World Cup because the system would need a wider trial, slated for the Under-20 World Championship this summer. Matches would also need an extra TMO, meaning more officials would need to be appointed and trained prior to the flagship tournament, which begins on September 8.
Telegraph Sport understands there is a growing reluctance from referees to give red cards for “grey area” incidents at the World Cup in the wake of Steward’s sending off. The new law could help reduce these instances for the on-field officials.
England’s full-back was dismissed on the verge of half-time in Dublin following a high-speed clash with Hugo Keenan in which Steward turned to protect himself and inadvertently made contact with the head of his opposite number.
Initially brought in to shorten stoppages while the on-field officials confer with their TMO, this off-field upgrade system could also ensure that red cards are not branded hastily and that teams have a better chance of keeping all 15 players on the field.
Should the World Cup adopt this law, which is being trialled in the Super Rugby Pacific competition, there will be one major change. In the Super Rugby Pacific competition, yellows have been upgraded to a 20-minute red card with the offending player replaced by a team-mate if the TMO deems the offence to be serious enough. At the World Cup, however, there would only be yellow cards or traditional, permanent red cards.
World Rugby have been enthused by initial reaction to the Super Rugby Pacific trial and would be happy to roll it out further at relatively short notice because it would not need players or coaches to make any material alterations to their World Cup preparation.
One criticism of the Super Rugby trial has been that any upgrade has not always been obvious to spectators at the ground. World Rugby will be eager to address this concern at their showpiece event.
A source, who officiated in this Six Nations and attended a significant World Rugby alignment meeting between international coaches and referees on Monday, revealed the incident had split opinion at the very top of the sport.
There is a growing sense that officials, as well as decision-makers at World Rugby, do not want World Cup matches to hinge on similarly divisive red cards.
“There is a feeling going into the World Cup that we clearly don’t want games decided on incidents like that when there is so much grey around it,” said the source.
“Would that [the Steward incident] be a red again? Probably not, because it splits opinion so much and is so potentially decisive in the outcome of the game.”
World Rugby is aiming to aid officials with a background “calibration process” that sees the ex-players and coaches that developed the head contact process (HCP), such as former New Zealand centre Conrad Smith and Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, review a series of incidents every three weeks and circulate a document detailing best practice. Chris Quinlan, the head of judiciary at World Rugby, is also involved in this exercise.
However, it is understood that at this week’s meeting in Heathrow, decision-makers were split over the correct outcome in the Steward incident.
