Eddie Jones blasts ‘ridiculous refereeing decision’ as Lood de Jager was trying to do ‘everything right’
Referee Angus Gardner red cards Lood de Jager and an inset of Eddie Jones.
Eddie Jones has slammed the decision to issue Lood de Jager with a permanent red card in the clash against France at the Stade de France.
The Springboks lock has since been slapped with a four-game ban, rubbing salt into the wounds, for his dangerous tackle on the French full-back before half-time.
Australian referee Angus Gardner brandished the red card to De Jager after reviewing the hit on Ramos, who was falling in a tackle by scrum-half Cobus Reinach.
The second rower went incredibly low when attempting to make the hit, but had his arm tucked and led with his shoulder that collided with the Frenchman’s head.
Gardner used World Rugby’s Head Contact process when reviewing the incident and deemed that De Jager’s actions were always illegal, which meant that mitigation was never considered, meaning that it warranted a permanent sending-off.
We was trying to do everything right
Speaking on the Rugby Unity podcast, Jones hit out at the decision and stated that referees need to interpret the law and not just tick the boxes.
Additionally, he did not think that De Jager was reckless or careless with his actions, and there were several reasons to drop the sanction from a red card.
“The guy’s 6’8ft, and he must have been, when he hit him, I reckon, three maybe 3’1/2ft above the ground,” he began.
“I know there’s head contact, and I know we have to worry about the safety, but I just can’t see how that’s a red card.
“He’s trying to do everything right. Everything right. It spoils the game.”
Show host David Pembroke asked Jones whether De Jager wasn’t careless in the way that he set up and how he tucked his shoulder.
“He’s trying to make a tackle with a bloke who is ducking, that’s not careless,” the Japan boss replied.
“One thing you see in the game now is very few careless acts. Very few. And there’s a lot of accidental head contacts, and that was accidental.
“Why would he try to ram his head into the other player’s head? That’s just ridiculous. And I thought it was a ridiculous refereeing decision, and it spoiled the game.”
Pembroked chipped in and disagreed: “I don’t know if I agree with you about that, I think the way that the laws are, the way that they have to adjudicate the laws, and the way they looked at it thoroughly [it was the right call.”
“No, no, no; they have to interpret the laws,” Jones retorted.
Wary not to labour on the subject and get into an argument about it, Pembroke concluded the chat by saying, “The way Angus Gardner managed the game was very good. He just went through it, he called upon his assistant referees, they all looked through it, worked through it, and they came to a decision, and they made the decision that they did.
“But it certainly does compromise and impact the game.”
Springboks are leading the way
The decision to send the Springbok lock off permanently meant that South Africa played the entirety of the second half a man down.
However, sharp substitutions from Rassie Erasmus and his coaching team paid off for the Boks with replacements Grant Williams and Andre Esterhuizen touching down for crucial tries. The latter was effectively tasked with filling in at flank and inside centre, proving his versatility as South Africa romped to victory.
Similarly, England overcame Fiji, and Ireland breezed past Jones’ Japan, mostly due to the impact of the eight players on the bench.
“I think that was one of the general trends on the weekend in all the games, the power of the bench, the power of your finishers, and how much influence they can have in the game,” the Brave Blossoms boss said.
“Having players that can play multiple positions is such a gift for a coach and a team.
“For instance, our game on the weekend, we collect these stats called Samurai stats, which are basically stats of effective actions versus ineffective actions. All our eight finishers got well beaten by their eight Irish counterparts, and hence the 19 points to nil in the last 15 minutes of the game.
“The ability to build depth in a squad, which South Africa have better than anyone at the moment, allows them to have that flexibility and allows them to finish games really strongly.”
