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First 4 minutes and a couple of idiots have ruined the game.

First Myhill decided to lift the legs despite the other guy having already been tackled and driven back,

and now Earle has decided to stick his fingers in someone eyes

Down to 13 men and Earle will be banned for at least 6 weeks.

Nothing in that - for me, both were rugby incidents, where yellow card is harsh-but-fair. No way was that a red card offence.

another game ruined. Definitely not red.

It had to be red.

It shouldnt be a lengthy ban, because going by the footage its difficult to prove any intent.

But lack of intent doesnt mean it isnt reckless.

Ive seen similar incidents ignored by officials though.

It was red. Intent doesn't matter. Eyes go in that's a red card. Citing officer will decide intent and that determines length of ban

Quote:

Which Tyler
Nothing in that - for me, both were rugby incidents, where yellow card is harsh-but-fair. No way was that a red card offence.

Both were dangerous incidents that could have caused severe injury. The rules now require that players exercise a high level of care & in both situations that wasn't the case.

DON'T WORRY WE'RE SIGNING PENCE ACCORDING TO RICHARD HOLLAND!!!!!!!!!!

I'd rather a couple of quality second rows!

I'd rather a couple of fully fit second rows!

When you have 2 centres on the wing maybe Halfpenney would be a good signing?

Yes love how people keep saying we need more forwards (which is true) and ignoring the fact for the second week we have had centres on the wing and no fullback cover. Of course we need Halfpenny and his kicking would be handy too. Toulon haven't offered him 500,00 because he is pretty but because he is a world class fullback and a great attacking player for them.
Good to see Richard Holland speaking about it. Up to Leigh now but as he has been by all accounts house hunting up by Blues training base the omens might be positive.

I will say though I though Allen has done well considering he is out of position and has an obvious loss of confidence

It was a clear yellow and clear red.

Any lift above the horizontal is a yellow if the player isn't brought down safely - in the context it wasn't dangerous as he fell on his side, but that was more just luck.

Any contact with the eye area is a clear red these day - and rightly so - if there is intention it is a long ban, if accidental then it is still reckless and all players know than any fingers near eyes will be a red

Very harsh on both decisions.
Myhill- Down being on his knees acts as a pivot that tips attwood on to his back. which makes it look like a spear tackle. Myhill doesn't drive him into the ground and he lands on his shoulder.
No complaint from Bath players.
-yellow card has basis by the laws but not in that context.

Earle -never a red card for absence of duty of care. A gouge should be a red card, that was not a gouge. In Real time Earle places an open palm on his face whilst engaged at the neck and shoulder. Very unfortunate but that is the nature of a maul, Bath player makes a fuss and therefore it gets red card.
-neither a red card, yellow or penalty in my opinion.


Context of situational tackles and game scenarios are being replaced by banal yellow and red cards.

A lot of people offering opinions on why it is a red card who haven't played a game of rugby in decades. Very clear the ref hasn't partaken in a maul in his life.

I massively support the safeguarding of the player on the field but the last two weekends of rugby seem to have removed any context from decision making.
Beale in the Wasp game wasn't a yellow
Halyn petty versus England wasn't a yellow card
The Argentina stamp versus England was a yellow not a red

Danger of sterilising the unpredictability physical element of the game we love

Contact with the eyes is a red. Richie Rees didn't gouge Hartley but his hand in the face was a 12 week ban. Not helped by Hartley's statement to the hearing of course.

That tells you all you need to know about Hartley. As a rugby player he is a despicable character no matter how decent a bloke he is off the pitch. I fail to see how players can avoid contact with the eye area 100 percent of time in a rugby game. There is an obvious difference between gouging and momentary accidental contact

Quote:

Bluenblack53
That tells you all you need to know about Hartley. As a rugby player he is a despicable character no matter how decent a bloke he is off the pitch. I fail to see how players can avoid contact with the eye area 100 percent of time in a rugby game. There is an obvious difference between gouging and momentary accidental contact

Toby Faletau returned from injury with a 'scratched eyeball' accidental contact to the face and eyes are part and parcel of the game. I think Earle did it unintentionally, but nowadays we are playing to the letter of the law.
I also thought the ref had a poor game, why would we drive sideways when going for a pushover/penalty try, and Brew's try looked forward after upteen replays.

I would love the governing bodies to sort an initiative to get more ex players into reffing.

Only know of Glen Jackson as the only pro ref retired player.

Think it would be very healthy for the game, less crowd abuse towards a respected former player and a lot more contextual knowledge of the game.

Need to ensure they don't ref former teams or rival teams.

" I think Earle did it unintentionally, but nowadays we are playing to the letter of the law."

Unfortunately, we are not exactly playing to the letter of the law.

It would appear that referees, assistant referees (or whatever they want to call themselves nowadays) and the jumped up twerps that sit in a van and don't even have the guts top be on show for their appalling decisions, are completely ignoring two of the most important rules that make rugby a contest sport:
straight put-ins to scrums and line outs.
Whatever happened to the ruling that repeated crooked scrum feeds would build up to a red card?

Quote:

Ben Blair's Right Peg
I would love the governing bodies to sort an initiative to get more ex players into reffing.
Only know of Glen Jackson as the only pro ref retired player.

Think it would be very healthy for the game, less crowd abuse towards a respected former player and a lot more contextual knowledge of the game.

Need to ensure they don't ref former teams or rival teams.

Completely agree with this. No disrespect to those referees that never played to a high standard, but I think you're more likely to have referees with empathy/a feel for the game if they're former players that have played to a good standard.

Equally though I think some referees could learn a bit from each other. You look at how Wayne Barnes refereed the Ulster Clermont game, that was one of the best displays I've seen for a while - kept the game flowing, wasn't interested in dossing about with the TMO for a bit of handbags, and kept any interaction with the TMO limited.

Compare that to Pascal Gauzette this weekend, and how he went from deciding there was nothing wrong with Zebo's covering tackle to it being a penalty, and Zebo being given a yellow card for too many penalties, all because the TMO steered him in that direction on the 5th viewing.

The referees have it in them to use a bit of common sense in dishing out penalties and consulting the TMO. Player safety should be paramount, but I think it shows that for some they've never experienced the situation they're passing judgement on or they just don't understand it.

Same goes for scrums, but that's another story for another day!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016:12:19:13:25:45 by sionlikesmusic.

Well we all want good reffing of games obviously but for me ex players don't necessarily mean good refs. For the same reason ex players don't necessarily mean good coaches or good pundits. Some players are not bright enough to be referees to be honest.