Former Ireland international Tommy Bowe has called on World Rugby to get rid of red cards and instead introduce stricter punishments for individual offenders.
Bowe was writing in a column for BBC Sport in the wake of Ireland’s Six Nations victory over France in Dublin.
During the first half of the match, South African-born Ireland hooker Rob Herring was concussed in a heavy collision with France prop Uini Atonio, who appeared to make high contact with the use of his shoulder.
The incident was reviewed by the TMO and referee Wayne Barnes opted to show Atonio a yellow card, leading to heavy criticism of the English official. Atonio has since been cited for the tackle and faces a hearing on Wednesday.
Wayno has got this one wrong, high degree of danger, upright in tackle, arm tucked, no wrap and shoulder to head with huge force! Red card all day long! pic.twitter.com/F9xIQvvIGx
— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) February 11, 2023
“A red card probably would have been the right decision, but why should the whole spectacle suffer and 50,000-plus fans who shelled out more than 100 euros (£88) for a ticket be left short-changed as a result of one player’s stupidity?” wrote Bowe.
“Look, rugby needs to sort out high tackles and concussions, but this is a spectator sport and I’m not convinced handing out red cards for these types of incidents is the way to do it.
“For me, World Rugby needs to seriously consider introducing a yellow card where the player goes on report like in rugby league – an orange card, if you like – whereby the offending player is dismissed and the replacement comes on after 10 minutes.
“Red cards ruin big games. Remember Sam Warburton being sent off just 18 minutes into Wales’ 2011 World Cup semi-final defeat by France? We don’t want a repeat of that in France this year.
“It’s time to stop players making high tackles by punishing them harder. Repeat offenders who are giving away multiple yellow or red cards must get the book thrown at them with hefty fines and lengthy bans.”
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