Cape Town - The outcome of Ireland flanker CJ Stander's airborne challenge on Bok flyhalf Pat Lambie, which resulted in a red card and one-week ban, has once again shone the spotlight on referees' interpretations of rugby laws.
While the consequences of Stander's challenge on Lambie were somewhat unfortunate, opinion is still divided over whether it even warranted a red card in the first place.
In Stander's case, the young loose forward attempted to charge down a clearance kick by Lambie, launching himself into the air in such a manner that his hip struck the Bok pivot square in the face, knocking him out, stone cold.
From the replays, it was clear Stander was already committed to the charge-down as soon as Lambie had executed the kick and was unable to change the course of his actions in mid-air.
Retired Test referee Jonathan Kaplan weighed in on the debate on a public platform, through his Twitter account, and vociferously insisted over and over again that Stander's actions did not warrant the red card. Dangerous contact in the air seems to be a particular area of focus in World Rugby this season, with several instances in Super Rugby pointing to the directive from above to sanction any incidents that put the safety of players at risk.
In the Round 10 clash against the Waratahs at Newlands Stadium, Stormers wing Leolin Zas was shown a red card by referee Mike Fraser after he had slipped and collided with flyhalf Bernard Foley in the air. Due to the manner in which Foley had landed, on his neck and shoulder, it was deemed a dangerous challenge.
Zas was consequently given a two-week ban for the incident. At the time, Kaplan also disagreed with the red card decision. “In respect to protect the catcher of the ball, I'm very much in favour of what World Rugby has tried to do here, trying to protect the man in the air,” Kaplan told the Cape Times.
“But in many cases on the field, we are asked to rule subjectively, we are asked to rule on intent.” But while the wellbeing of players being treated as paramount is commendable, it has opened the door to many questionable decisions, as the interpretation of the law can often vary from match official to match official.
“Was never a red card in the first place,” Kaplan said in response to a tweet by former Springbok flank Rob Louw, who expressed his dismay at the decision against the South African-born Stander. In a number of responses thereafter, whenever Kaplan was questioned about the validity of the red card decision, he unequivocally stated he disagreed with French referee Mathieu Raynal's call.
Kaplan also pointed to the flawed nature of “outcome based laws” in a contact sport, where more weight is given to the consequences of an action, rather than the action, or intent, itself. For his part, Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt also believed Raynal's decision was incorrect. “I thought the red card was very, very harsh,” Schmidt told reporters after the game.
“CJ had both hands extended — once you are in the air you cannot change your trajectory. “I know CJ and Patrick are friends. CJ was upset that Patrick was hurt as much as he was upset that he had to leave the field.
“Sometimes, I think when there is an injury like that, the consequence is that a card comes out.” Ireland skills coach Richie Murphy later hinted that Leinster loose forward Rhys Ruddock would be in line to replace Stander in the starting line-up against the Springboks in the second Test on Saturday.
African News Agency