Nigel Owens’ ‘no ifs or buts’ verdict on James Ryan’s sending off for a ‘reckless’ shot on Malcolm Marx
James Ryan's clear-out on Malcolm Marx during Ireland v South Africa and an inset of former referee Nigel Owens.
Former referee Nigel Owens has weighed in on James Ryan’s 20-minute red card against the Springboks.
Referee Matthew Carley issued the Ireland lock a yellow card in the 19th minute of the clash at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which South Africa won 24-13, before sending the incident to be reviewed by the Foul Play Review Officer – aka the bunker.
Ryan had flown into a ruck and made shoulder-to-head contact with Springboks hooker Malcolm Marx, with his actions not only ruling out a try for fellow second-rower Tadhg Beirne but ultimately resulting in a 20-minute red card.
This was after the bunker deemed Ryan’s actions to warrant a red card, a decision that an independent disciplinary panel deemed was correct, as they handed down a three-match suspension for the Leinster second rower.
Jamie Roberts and
Ex-Test referee Owens discussed the incident on World Rugby’s Whistle Watch show, where he was joined by former Wales and Lions centre Jamie Roberts.
Roberts kick-started the discussion on Ryan’s sending-off by stating that he believed that the Irishman’s actions were worthy of a permanent sending-off rather than a 20-minute red card.
“James Ryan, 20 minutes in. To me, this is a straight red,” the legendary centre remarked.
“Like, I’ve seen clearouts like this given – off feet, high degree of danger, clear line of sight, right into Malcolm Marx’s chin. Tell me otherwise because I’m not seeing how that isn’t a straight red personally.”
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Dog shot.
James Ryan was lucky not to see a permanent red like previous calls this November.#IREvRSA pic.twitter.com/cOFogIbDqc
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) November 22, 2025
Owens agreed and theorised that referee Carley wasn’t sure about the decision to issue a permanent red card. He further explained that only the referee can issue a straight red card, with the bunker only able to upgrade a yellow card to a 20-minute red, which means that the offending team are able to bring another player on after the sin binning period.
“I think the majority of rugby people will be on the same page as you and myself included,” Owens replied.
“So, when I’m watching that, I’m not saying it’s an easy decision, but to me, that’s a straight red card.
“That is exactly the type of action that is reckless, as you said, a clear line of sight pretty much takes off, basically leading with a shoulder, should be a straight red, there’s no ifs or buts about this.
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“Now, what the referee did was he looked at those pictures, now whether he couldn’t decide at that moment and then sent it to the bunker, the issue you have then is once you send that to the bunker, the bunker cannot come back with a permanent red card.
“The bunker can only come back with a 20-minute red card. But for me, when I was watching that live, I’m going ‘That’s red’, and when you see a couple of replays, you’re going ‘That’s red’. So that should have been a red card.”
As mentioned above, Ryan has since been banned for his actions and will miss at least the next two matches for his club, Leinster. The lock will be able to reduce his three-game suspension by a week by completing World Rugby’s coaching intervention programme.
