‘Pissed off’ coach calls Top 14’s new orange card ‘useless’ after ex-Wallabies international becomes its first victim
Ex-Wallabies lock Rob Simmons has entered the French rugby history books as the first Top 14 player to be shown the league’s newly introduced orange card.
It was last May when World Rugby approved the global trial of the 20-minute red card in elite competitions, but sceptical FFR and LNR officials were vocal in their opposition to its introduction, and they came up with a colour protest alternative for its Top 14 and PROD2 tournaments.
The orange card sanction is essentially the same as the 20-minute red card – a team still plays with one less player for 20 minutes, after which a replacement is allowed.
But the use of the orange card distinguishes the sanction from the traditional red card that is still used for offences where a team must permanently lose a play.
“It’s pissing everyone off…”
Playing for Clermont away to Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle on Saturday, Simmons was brandished the top-flight’s first orange card by referee Ludovic Cayre following a tackle where he connected with the face of Gregory Alldritt.
The review resulted in Simmons leaving the field, but with the incident taking place in the 68th minute, there wasn’t enough time remaining for Clermont to replace the second row after a 20-minute absence in a match they were to lose 16-34.
Clermont boss Christophe Urios has a history of shooting from the hip with the media when he is upset, and he was no different at La Rochelle when discussing the law changes that are now being implemented.
Aside from his dismay over the introduction of the orange card, he also unloaded his grievances about the changes in how the scrum is officiated.
Two laws – that scrum feeds must be straight and that hookers must attempt to heel the ball backwards on their own feed – have usually become overlooked by officials and are a real bugbear for fans and coaches.
However, the French outlined in the off-season that they would be creating a fairer contest in 2025/26, with referee boss Mathieu Raynal explaining: “Everyone agrees that there was a shift in the way scrum feeds were being handled. Even the staff acknowledges it.
“We were letting shady feeds go through, and it lacked fairness. This season, we decided to be more rigorous. Everyone is aware of it, referees and staff, and everyone has validated this desire to be stricter.”
Urios, though, clearly isn’t a fan. Speaking with reporters following the Round Two match, initially about the orange-carded Simmons incident, Urios quipped: “It’s logical; I knew the referee was going to give him an orange card. He didn’t get bored.
“There are several things that piss me off. This orange card is useless. These video calls, I’m sick of them. I’m telling you straight. We’re going to piss everyone off. These scrum resets, I’m sick of them.
“Every match, there are four introductions that aren’t straight; it’s been like this for 20 years. What are we doing here today, acting like cowboys? It’s pissing everyone off. And it’s going to piss off all the spectators, especially. The matches are 85, 90 minutes long…
“There are the video calls; Okay, I hear you, but hey, there are 40 of them… Today, I don’t know how many there were. It’s not a big deal, I won’t change that. It’s none of my business.
“I’m probably pissed off, and what pisses me off today are these resets where you stop everything, you start again, it takes two hours.”
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