Rugby World Cup 2019: Real competition about to begin and it’s time to play referee roulette
Players are being picked up for lineball, unintentional collar tackles and body jolts that would barely have earned a penalty a decade ago but Japan 2019 is still one of the best World Cups we’ve seen.
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Rugby diehards are cringing that their game has been hijacked by a flood of soft red and yellow cards at the Rugby World Cup that is blighting the code’s greatest chance to woo new fans.
No sport wants to be at the mercy of ref roulette or over-zealous officials manning replay screens to dissect every misdemeanour yet that’s what rugby too often has become.
The Wallabies are fighting for profile in a footy code being played with the handbrake on.
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Former All Blacks hardman-turned-Queensland coach Brad Thorn would be exasperated that three players are being sinbinned in some matches, often for lineball, unintentional collar tackles or body jolts that would barely have earned a penalty a decade ago.
“I suspect I sound like a relic saying ‘back in the day blah blah’ but seriously the (video review ) stoppages are not good for footy...and soon it will be the belly button (for tackle height), “ Thorn always says.
“If you look at the UFC or whatever it just keeps growing because you see two men go to war, physically, and they hug with so much respect at the end.
“Definitely sort out spear tackling and deliberately taking someone’s head off but people don’t want to see the contest ruined (with cheap sinbinnings).”
The rivetting theatre of underdog upsets, new heroes, Japan’s remarkable unbeaten run as host nation and the great spectacles that always rise above officiating have still given rugby’s showpiece tournament enormous heart, colour and appeal.
It is one of the best.
The big question is not about the campaign by World Rugby to protect the heads of players at all costs being worthy or not.
If you want to change the culture of a sport and show mums of young kids that high velocity shoulder charges and the like have no place in rugby, you do it on the grandest stage for maximum impact.
Absolutely, go that way with the concerning research into the long-term affects of concussion.
It’s whether far too many minor issues are being inadvertently swept into the pot, too.
The first half of the brilliant Fiji-Wales game was eye-popping for Semi Radradra’s dynamic showing yet it was drawn out to 54 minutes by overdone video reviews orchestrated by Kiwi Television Match Official Ben Skeen wanting the limelight, too.
Losing a sudden-death finals match because of a soft sinbinning would be a disaster for coach Michael Cheika and the men in gold.
A finals match will be decided by a controversial referee’s call as certainly as the NRL grand final was ruined by the “six-again” fiasco by ref Ben Cummins that Canberra Raiders fans will rue for life.
All the Cup coaches have that secret fear.
The stakes couldn’t be higher and we’re not talking about Cheika’s reign ending if he doesn’t win the whole thing, which is the glory-or-bust bar he has set himself.
Rugby bosses in Australia are praying for a strong finish in Japan just to nourish the image of the cash-strapped code for four more years or the recriminations will be ugly.
It’s the clear air they need to build on the good stuff because beating the Kiwis at both Junior Wallabies and Australian Schoolboys-Under-18s level over the past six months was a quantum leap of success.
There have already been more red cards (six) at this tournament than the three previous editions combined (five) and that doesn’t account for the 21 yellow cards.
In all, 17 of the opening 32 pool matches have been played with mismatched numbers at some stage because of this yellow and red card fever.
The Wallabies were tripped by two yellow cards for neck-grabbing collar tackles against Uruguay that were inconsequential to the result.
Any repeat will be terminal against Eddie Jones and his English bully boys in a week when more than a million Australian TV fans will tune to Fox Sports and Channel 10 for the biggest game of the past four years.
One chance for Australian rugby. Nothing at all on the line.
Out of all the tortured results of last year, the Wallabies have improved, becoming more bonded and even been better selected with Scott Johnson and Michael O’Connor as voices challenging Cheika’s view of the world.
If the Wallabies could just be more clearcut on Christian Lealiifano as their No.1 playmaker at five-eighth, they could still topple England to save our rugby empire.
Bottling a little of the magic that beat the All Blacks 47-26 in Perth in August is what it will take.
And, yes, the All Blacks had a player red carded for a dangerous tackle in that Test.
Chop tackling around the ankles by the Japanese was critical to their grand upset of Ireland.
Here was a coach in Jamie Joseph taking ownership of low tackling and winning without any card dramas.
Did we forget to mention a typhoon with rain swirling with winds of more than 150km per hour is to hit the Japanese coastline around Tokyo and Yokohama on Saturday?
Two matches cancelled, 115,000 fans with tickets to nowhere.
Strap on your seatbelts. The real World Cup is about to begin.
Originally published as Rugby World Cup 2019: Real competition about to begin and it’s time to play referee roulette