Opinion: The real embarrassment of Sam Underhill’s controversial non-red card
Sam Underhill received a 20-minute red card in the Challenge Cup final.
It was a stonewall red card. Sam Underhill was incredibly fortunate to play longer than 30 minutes of the Challenge Cup Final against Lyon.
But it wasn’t as referee Hollie Davidson and her officiating team deemed that there was sufficient mitigation to reduce the sanction from a 10-minute send-off instead of a permanent one.
It was a puzzling decision, some would say absurd or even diabolical. Frankly, it’s difficult to disagree with those superlatives.
The moment that hardman Underhill thundered into Georgian superstar Davit Niniashvili with a tackle more akin to a torpedo headbutt than a rugby incident, the pocket Davidson should have been reaching for should have been the one containing a red card rather than yellow.
Unanimous decision
But yet, that was not the final outcome with her three assistants agreeing with the decision.
Perhaps Davidson had the words on World Rugby’s statement this week on the top of her mind, maybe even subconsciously so.
Rugby’s governing body confirmed this week that the 20-minute red card will go on a global trial after a World Rugby Council voted in favour of the move.
The controversial law has polarised the hemispheres with the North against but the South for, and the latter has got its way this time around.
But it’s the content of the statement that could well have played a role in the Challenge Cup Final and the decision to downgrade Underhill’s sanctions.
“The 20-minute red card aims to maintain the spectacle and competitive integrity of elite matches while upholding rugby’s unwavering commitment to player welfare. The trial will operate in all elite competitions ahead of a final decision on permanent adoption in 2026,” the statement read.
The 20-minute red card was not implemented or trialled in the Champions Cup or Challenge Cup this season, meaning that had Davidson reached for the red card for Underhill, she would have – in her employer’s eyes – spoiled the “spectacle and competitive integrity of elite match”.
World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson added in the statement: “Our mission is to ensure rugby is a compelling sport to play and watch. The 20-minute red card preserves the fairness and drama of elite competition by punishing the individual, not the entire team or the spectacle.
“Player welfare is non-negotiable. We monitor data around head injuries, tackle height, and concussion rigorously – and transparently. If evidence ever indicated this trial posed a greater risk, we would end it immediately.”
Sam Underhill ‘very, very lucky’ to avoid red for horror tackle in Challenge Cup Final
It’s hard not to draw the parallels here with the statement coming out just two days before the final at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
One cannot help but think that this was A not a final of a European competition or B that the 20-minute red card was in play – that Underhill would have seen red and had his game ended.
Instead, he was able to return to the pitch after 10 minutes in the naughty chair and continue to hammer into Lyon players – legally this time – producing a truly world-class performance outside of that tackle.
But other issues at play hamstrung Davidson into making what can be described as a rash call.
It’s been a running theme of World Rugby’s law trials and updates to “enhance the fan and player experience” and part of that has been for officials to make quicker decisions with the revision of TMO protocols, shot clocks placed on set-pieces and place kicks.
But also the introduction of the ‘TMO Bunker’ or more accurately, the Foul Play Review Officer, something that was not afforded to Davidson and co. on Friday evening.
Frankly, for the EPCR that fact is an embarrassment for what is supposed to be one of the two showpiece events in their calendar along with the Investec Champions Cup Final.
It’s not just the EPCR that hasn’t adopted this new innovation that has been in play since the 2023 Rugby World Cup at the international stage but has also been implemented in Super Rugby Pacific but the Top 14, United Rugby Championship (URC) and Premiership have not adopted it either.
The costs involved with adding an additional official and the logistics behind it all are certainly excusable for the URC, Top 14 and Premiership but is it for the Challenge Cup and Champions Cup? A strong case for the former sure, until the competition moves to the final where the same venue hosts the latter’s final a day later.
Even if there is no ‘TMO bunker’ during the pool stages of the EPCR’s two competitions, introducing it in the knockout stages just seems like a no-brainer. It ticks World Rugby’s boxes of getting speedier decisions and allows for more accurate decisions as the Foul Play Review Officer has eight minutes to decide if the yellow card is sufficient or if it needs to be upgraded.
For comparison purposes, Davidson reviewed the footage and issued the red card in less than two.
She would have come to the same conclusion that a yellow card with a review being needed in a shorter space of time but then the correct decision would have surely been reached.
HIA not forthcoming
Adding to this shortfall was that Niniashvili did not go to the sidelines for a challenge that surely warranted an HIA.
That Bath flanker underwent the check during his sin-binning and while we don’t claim to be a medical expert but airing on the side of caution, removing the Georgian on player welfare and safety grounds seemed a straightforward decision.
Perhaps the medical staff checked him at half-time but that was still some 12 minutes later. Logic would suggest that if one player required a medical check then the other probably needed it too, but didn’t get it. It was a point raised by multiple onlookers as the optics were not great.
Considering the manner in which Bath won the final, even bossing proceedings when down two men, suggests that an upgrade from a yellow card to a red would have mattered little. But we will never know.
The Premiership club were simply the better side on the day despite the ill-discipline but Lyon will still feel hard done by in the end.
Ultimately, Lyon were let down but so was Davidson as she was not afforded the sufficient modern technology befitting of a main event.
