Mighty Munster may have won it in the first minute, assisted by a blade or two of whitewashed grass. But they certainly did win it in the last seconds, thanks to a refereeing decision which went their way.
It was a stroll in Croke Park for Leinster. A marvellous team display but hardly of great benefit against a dreadful Harlequins team. Meanwhile, a serious storm was brewing in La Rochelle for Italian referee Andrea Piardi.
It’s very easy to be wise after the event, but a stronger referree was needed on France’s Atlantic coast. Piardi has made good progress recently, but this, I’ll bet, was the highest degree of difficulty and intensity he has faced. In the boiling cauldron of Stade Marcel Deflandre, he mistakenly allowed too much chat, which is an all too common error.
Warning players not to shout or to appeal could usefully be replaced with a sanction. Referees who do so are invariably respected and left in peace. Munster were also guilty of some unacceptable, needless sledging. Apart from the undesirable likelihood of schoolboys copying their heroes, it is also a punishable offence. Pretty mortifying to give up vital points for screaming into an opponent’s face. Let’s have a look at a few things. The yellow card to Munster’s Andrew Smith, as early as the 10th minute, bordered on the preposterous, and it’s impossible to understand the rationale behind it. Then La Rochelle’s Ihaia West was binned, on merit. He stayed upright in the tackle with no attempt to bend into Sean O’Brien.
Penalty tries are huge calls, often result-altering. Referees need to be certain that they’ve interpreted things correctly. Piardi spent a lot of time analysing the collapse of a La Rochelle attacking maul. In striving to get the right outcome, and to identify the culprit, he may well have overlooked the golden criteria of “clear and obvious”. For me, there wasn’t enough evidence to decide on a penalty try and to bin Alex Kendellen.
Ronan O’Gara may argue the last-minute call not to penalise Fineen Wycherley for his tackle on Oscar Jegou – as the saying goes, “we’ve seen them given”. Whatever Piardi was going to do here, it needed to be done with total assuredness. Having made his decision, the pleadings of La Rochelle players, and a roaring crowd, persuaded him to formally review it. That final call was critical and was the right one, in my opinion, just.
A crucial, terrible decision for O’Gara’s team was made, not by the referee, but by Teddy Thomas. Inexplicably, he chose to cut back towards the defenders instead of heading left into acres of open space for a certain try. A potential game-changer.
I had a sort of Eureka moment last week. Well, perhaps not quite at the level of Archimedes but a step in the right direction.
Joel Jutge, as you know, heads up the elite match official function in World Rugby. I have known him for a long time; his game understanding is top notch, always delivered with charm and determination. When he speaks, he is well worth listening to, particularly right now on the matter of red cards. We had a long conversation on this vexing issue during the week.
Here’s what Jutge had to say as the overarching point: “We have to recognise two things which are really very important. Firstly, that there is some foul play which must get a full red card, without a replacement. And then there are those where the player is attempting to wrap an opponent with a high speed, and therefore with a lack of control – either in a tackle or cleaning out at the breakdown. For these, if there is head contact, a 20-minute red is enough.”
Jutge, and his specialist group, has categorised foul play into several headings, which will guide referees in their decision making. Here are three vital categories concerning tackling and cleaning out at the breakdown:
Attempt to wrap, with high danger: 20-minute card;
Always illegal, with high danger: Full red;
Always illegal, with low danger: 20-minute red.
The last two are defined as no attempt to wrap, clear line of sight, and leading with head or shoulder.
This is likely to become a global trial when World Rugby assemble in May. For me, there is certainly some subjectivity involved which must be ironed out, such as how to define consistently the levels of danger and also what constitutes a genuine attempt to wrap.
It is confusing that the 20-minute card is not operating in the URC or European competitions. But there is a large number of officials who need to be brought up to speed. It can’t happen overnight.
The injury to Antoine Dupont rumbles on. While nobody was to blame, it’s now a very dangerous game and awful accidents will happen. Friday evening marked Clermont’s Fritz Lee suffering a horrible leg injury, so bad that the TV producer declined to replay it. Then the weekend closed with Toulouse’s mercurial Ange Capuozzo stretchered off, in absolute agony, having scored a sensational try. That’s a hell of a lot of very serious stuff.
Add it all up and I don’t know why anybody is puzzled as to the reason participation levels are dropping quickly. It’s hardly a mystery.
