Sam Cane became the first player in a men’s Rugby World Cup final to be sent off after his yellow card was upgraded to a red following a review from the TMO bunker during the New Zealand v South Africa match.
During the first half of the Stade de France showpiece, the All Blacks captain’s shoulder collided with Jesse Kriel’s head. Referee Wayne Barnes initially sent the captain to the sin bin, but thanks to the bunker system, that was quickly upgraded to a red card.
The foul play review officer determined that it was a shoulder direct to head with significant force and that there was insufficient mitigation to keep the yellow card. After the review, Barnes summoned stand-in captain Ardie Savea to deliver the bad news to the All Blacks. “To red!?” he exclaimed, stunned. Cane was then seen in agony on the touchline after learning his fate, closing his eyes and rocking back in his chair.
At halftime, Ireland legend Brian O’Driscoll said of Cane’s red card: “Any effective tackle is a hinge at the hips, Sam Cane can have no complaints, there’s no late dip, he has a clear line of sight, it’s considerable force to the head and a very, very clear red card.”
While All Blacks legend Sean Fitzpatrick reluctantly agreed, he said, “In real time, it’s a red card, and we have to get on with it.”
But what are the laws that referees follow regarding head contact and high tackles, and how do they decide on punishment?
Everything you need to know is as follows:
What are the rules of head contact in World Rugby?
Head-on-head contact in a tackle is governed by Law 9 of the Rugby Union Laws, which governs foul play.
“Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others, including leading with the elbow or forearm, or jumping into, or over, a tackler,” according to Law 9.11, and Law 9.13 states, “A player must not tackle an opponent early, late, or dangerously.” Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the shoulder line, even if the tackle begins below the shoulder line.”
If a player violates these laws and the act is deemed reckless or dangerous, the referee has the authority to issue a yellow or red card.
World Rugby also clarifies the intent of the laws, stating in their guidelines, “Player welfare drives World Rugby’s decision-making for zero tolerance of foul play, particularly where head contact occurs.” The emphasis must be on the actions of those involved, rather than the injury – the need for an HIA [a Head Injury Assessment] does not always imply that there has been illegal head contact.”
What are the penalties for making head-on contact?
This is where things get technical and debates begin. World Rugby issued their most recent ‘head contact process law application guidelines’ in March 2023 to help referees determine whether foul play has occurred and how it should be punished.
To determine the extent of the foul play and the sanction, the referee must go through a four-step process (detailed below). The four steps are as follows:
Is there any evidence of head contact?
Was there any wrongdoing?
What was the level of risk?
Is there any way to mitigate this?
Step 1 (Has there been any head contact?) is relatively simple, with head contact encompassing the head and face, as well as the neck and throat area. If there is any head contact, we proceed to Step 2.
Step 2 (was there foul play?) is a little trickier. Referees are instructed to consider whether the head contact was intentional, reckless, or avoidable – for example, the defender is always upright. If it was, the tackler would be penalized and would proceed to Step 3. If the head contact is ruled not to be foul play, the game will continue.
Step 3 (how dangerous was it?) determines the initial punishment, which is graded from high to low.
Direct contact rather than indirect contact, a high-force impact, a lack of control from the tackler, the incident occurring at high speed, the tackler leading with the head/shoulder/elbow/forearm, or the tackle being reckless are all considered high danger. A red card will be shown if the referee believes there is a high degree of danger.
Meanwhile, low danger is defined as indirect contact, low force, low speed, or no leading head/shoulder/forearm/swinging arm, and a yellow card or even a penalty may be issued to the opposing team.
Step 4 (Is there any mitigation?) determines whether the punishment can be reduced by one grade (i.e., from red card to yellow card or from yellow card to just a penalty). A sudden or significant drop in height or change in direction by the ball carrier, a late change in dynamics due to another player in the contact area, a clear effort from the tackler to reduce their height, or the tackler having no time to adjust are all examples of mitigation.
Mitigation, on the other hand, will never apply to intentional or always-illegal foul play.
What about the review by the Foul Play Review Officer/Bunker?
The Bunker review system was introduced for this World Cup. This allows the referee to issue a yellow card to a player, sending them to the sin-bin while play continues, where a Foul Play Review Official (FPRO) will review the incident and determine if the yellow card should be upgraded to red, allowing the game to continue rather than a lengthy stoppage to debate this. This is what happened to Curry in his match against Argentina.
The referee crosses their arms, indicating that a Bunker review will be conducted.
When a player is sent to the sin bin, the FPRO has up to eight minutes to review the decision and decide whether it warrants a red card. If not, the player will be allowed to return to the field after their ten minutes in the sin-bin have expired.
