‘SANZAAR has lost the plot’ – Fans slam ‘ridiculous’ red card law trials for the Rugby Championship

Dylan Coetzee
Wayne Barnes shows a red card.

Wayne Barnes shows a red card.

SANZAAR confirmed the 2024 Rugby Championship will trial new law variations around red cards and in the set-pieces which has left fans fuming.

There are four variations in total being introduced for this year’s edition of the tournament, some of which make sense for the most part such as further protection for scrum-halves to allow cleaner ball while line-out throws can only be called not straight if the defending team competes.

That is the long and the short of the variations that make sense with the timers on set-pieces and kicks at goal on the surface seeming like a good change on the surface until one looks deeper. Scrums and line-outs have 30 seconds to set before being timed out at which point a free kick will be awarded. The issue with this is in the scrums where a team being dominated in that facet could simply time-out the 30 seconds and their opponent will not be able to reset the scrum as the option has been removed from free-kicks in 2024.

Red card chaos

Already that is frustrating but it is not what has gotten fans riled up, instead, it is the new red cards system. There will be a “full red card” for a “deliberate” action with a “high level of danger” and in this case, the play will be sent off without a replacement. Then “all other red cards” which do not fall into that category will have a 20-minute punishment after which the player can be replaced. Oh and of course there are still yellow cards somewhere in the midst of all of this and TMO bunker reviews.

SANZAAR greenlight controversial 20-minute red card with a twist for the 2024 Rugby Championship

Reaction on X

Head injuries are a heavily debated area of the sport and the game has made an effort to improve on that by increasing punishment for dangerous tackles and/or collisions. This move from SANZAAR feels like three steps backwards for the game and many fans on X (formerly Twitter) agree.

One South African felt it was not a great move and posted, “Why not just make this the ‘brown card’ as it sounds like a kak idea…”

Other users were worried about the confusion the laws will create.

“Wait what? If someone gets a red card they should just get kicked in the junk and subbed out of the game. If it’s really bad they should take them into the bunker adjudicate it and if found guilty execute them by making them read these new laws to death,” Jeremy Alrode posted.

“What rugby truly does not need is more complications. Imagine four head-high tackles, identical in nature to viewers, but each getting a different card. Mad,” another user Niel Humby wrote.

Nadea Nitram agreed with the two above posts and joked about how fans will know which card is which.

“How will referees differentiate between imaginary red cards and standard red cards for those of us watching from the stands? Will there be some neat magic trick or will the red card flash red if it’s a real one? This is just making it harder for fans to understand.”

Should be one or the other

The grey area the new law creates was not appreciated by Nick Park who believes it should be a red or not.

“It’s a joke. Either it’s a red or not. What is stopping a player from doing something pretty ugly to an opponent and then coming back on. Dropping on head is red. Gently lowering on head is 20 mins. Doesn’t work”

Aaron Talbot brought to light that the 2023 Rugby World Cup final was not ruined by the Sam Cane red.

“The biggest game in the last year bBtween two SANZAAR teams In a world cup final Had a red And it was arguably top 3 in games all world cup What a f**king joke”

Lastly, there was concern for referees and everything they had to consider on the park.

Have your say

Do you agree or disagree with the new law variations? We would love to hear from you (planetrugbyeditor@planetsport.com), share your thoughts and you could feature on our platforms.

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