Controversial Red Card trial to continue in Rugby Championship

Sanzaar has confirmed that it will be reintroducing the 20-minute red card law trial for the upcoming Rugby Championship, in which a red-carded player can be replaced after 20 minutes.

The trial, which received support from all four Sanzaar national unions, would be a continuation of the law trial conducted throughout Super Rugby competitions in 2020, 2021 and 2022, as well as the Rugby Championship in 2021.

The trial was not part of the All Blacks' recent three-test series against Ireland, which came under the microscope when New Zealand prop Angus Ta'avao was sent off during the first half of the second test for colliding head first with Ireland centre Garry Ringrose's face.

The All Blacks would go on to lose that test 23-12 after being a man down for the majority of the game.

Sanzaar CEO Brendan Morris said the continuation of the trial was a "great decision".

"All the Sanzaar national unions - Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa - are fully behind the extension of the red-card law trail. As a group we firmly believe the integrity of international matches is very important and that wherever possible matches must be a contest of fifteen versus fifteen.

"Within the context of the games' laws, Sanzaar believes that a 20-minute red card allows for a significant deterrent to deliberate acts of foul play, while it also protects the contest of fifteen on fifteen, which is what our unions, broadcasters and fans are telling us is important.

"Sanzaar stands alongside World Rugby's important work on managing foul play and player welfare and will conduct a formal research project across the 2022 [Rugby Championship] period with all comparative findings to be shared with World Rugby at the end of the season. The aim is to gather the necessary information that allows the 20-minute red card trial to be accepted into the full laws of the game in the future."

Despite its popularity in the southern hemisphere, the trial has been slammed in the north as dangerous and insufficient to drive behavioural change in players and coaches.

Test centurion referee Nigel Owens is among those against the 20-minute red card law trial.

"People need to stop thinking that red cards ruin games because a red card is given for a reason when clearly there is an act of foul play or recklessness, and if the referee gives a correct red card then it's irrelevant whether it ruins the game or not," Owens told RugbyPass earlier this year.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported in May that the World Rugby council rejected a recommendation to give the 20-minute red card law a global trial, with a spokesperson citing player welfare concerns.

Red Card law trial
• If a player is red-carded he may be replaced after 20 minutes by another player. The 20 minutes from when a player is red-carded to when they may be replaced is measured as "game time". This follows the same measurement of time already in place for a yellow-carded player in the sin bin (sin bin clock is stopped when the game clock is stopped).

• A player receives a yellow card and is sin-binned for 10 minutes. If the same player, then returns to the field after serving their 10 minutes suspension and subsequently receives a second yellow card, which equates to an automatic red card. After a further 20 minutes the red carded player can be replaced.

• A player who has been tactically replaced can return to the field to replace a red-carded player. Note if a team has unused replacements (eg #23) still sitting on the bench it does not have to use them to replace a red-carded player before the use of players who have already been substituted tactically (eg #12).

• Any red-carded player cannot return to the field under any circumstance.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission