World Rugby boss hints at the future of the controversial 20-minute red card ahead of global conference
World Rugby Chairman Brett Robinson and an inset of Angus Gardner issuing a red card
Ahead of the crunch Shape of the Game meeting later this month, World Rugby chairman Brett Robinson has dropped a hint on the future of the 20-minute red card.
Super Rugby Pacific has trialled the law for several seasons, but it first trialled globally at the elite level during the 2024 November internationals.
Polarising opinions
France hit out at the decision prior to the end-of-year Tests, with the FFR stating that the law “could encourage dangerous behaviour”. Prior to its implementation in the 2025 Six Nations, the IRFU said that “player welfare and safety was paramount”.
In May of last year, World Rugby approved the global trial of the 20-minute red card in elite competitions, stating that the “decision follows an extensive review of successful closed trials conducted in international and elite club rugby over the past year”.
The extension of the law trial is the final step before a final decision on permanent adoption into the lawbook occurs, which is set to be made at the Shape of the Game conference.
Speaking at the release of the 2027 Rugby World Cup fixtures, chairman Robinson provided the biggest hint at the future of the 20-minute red card that looks set to be adopted permanently into the lawbook.
Last year, he bemoaned the ‘hemispheric divide’ and opposing opinions on the game. Speaking on the Rugby Unity podcast, Robinson was not happy with the pace at which trials are implemented and how long it takes for a decision to be made.
“I don’t think we are moving at a [good] pace. We have a cultural problem in our game that involves us wanting to move all the world together, and that’s hard because you have different perspectives on how the game should be played, and it’s hemispheric,” he said.
“There’ll be alternate views, and we don’t have a system that really enables that to move quickly. That’s something I’ve also challenged us to reconsider as to how we get the work done.”
20-minute red cards’ future
However, he has changed his tune somewhat ahead of the crunch talks later this month as he believes that the unions are more unified than before.
The Shape of the Game meeting will not only rule on the future of the 20-minute red card, but also decide on any further changes to the lawbook or implementation of further trials ahead of the 2026 July internationals, which form part of the Nations Championship.
This will be the final opportunity for changes that aren’t only solely player safety driven to be implemented in the build-up to the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
“I actually think we’re better than we’ve ever been,” Robinson told reporters on Tuesday. “If you go back sort of 50 or 60 years, there was always this battle around the north and the south and the positioning of the product.
“Early on in the years of professionalism, there was still a lot of pressure, but now we have a group of people, chaired by Abdel Benazzi as the chair of the rugby committee. We are more united than we’ve ever been.”
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He then hinted that the 20-minute red card could be adopted into the lawbook after ‘positive’ findings.
“I mean, there is nuance around that; so we’re clearly going through a trial around the use of the 20-minute red card that obviously has been trialled a lot down here,” he continued.
“Fortunately, now that’s a global trial, and I think the initial findings of that are quite positive, and that’s a good example of where there’s a challenge often in bringing the family together.
“But once we share information and share learnings, it certainly lands us in a much better place. But we still have work to do, and we all agree that.”
Robinson’s comments come in the wake of Super Rugby Pacific’s confirmation that further law trials will be in place ahead of the 2026 tournament.
