Tadhg Beirne red card: Why was Ireland lock down against New Zealand cancelled?

ireland rugby Lock Tadhg Byrne Was sent off early in his side’s clash with new zealand rugby in Chicago.

Bayern was initially shown a yellow card by referee Pierre Brousset after making head contact in a direct tackle on Beauden Barrett.

Upon reviewing the bunker, the sanction was changed from yellow to red by foul play review official Dan Jones, who deemed there was a high enough level of danger.

Ireland head coach, with a 20-minute red card during this Quilter Nations series andy farrell Was able to bring in Ian Henderson.

But what are the laws around head contact that referees are following and how do they decide on punishment? Here’s everything you need to know:

What are the World Rugby rules on head contact?

Head-on-head contact in a tackle Law 9 of the Laws of Rugby UnionWhich covers dishonesty.

Rule 9.11 dictates that “Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others, including extending with the elbow or forearm, or jumping into or over a tackler” and Rule 9.13 states “A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or in a dangerous manner. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders. No, even if the tackle starts below the shoulder line.”

If a player breaks these laws and his action is considered reckless or dangerous, the referee is entitled to issue a yellow or red card.

world rugby Also make clear the intent of the laws, their guidelines state that: “Player welfare drives World Rugby’s decision to have zero tolerance for fouls, particularly where there is contact with heads. The focus should be on the actions of those involved, not on injury – a requirement for HIA. [a Head Injury Assessment] “This does not mean that illicit contact has taken place.”

What are the penalties for face-to-face contact?

Okay, this is where things get technical and the debate begins. In March 2023, World Rugby released its latest ‘Head Contact Process Law Application Guidelines’ to guide referees on whether a foul has occurred and how it should be punished.

The referee goes through a four-step process (detailed below) to determine the extent of the foul and the punishment. There are four stages:

Step 1 (Has head contact occurred?) is relatively straightforward, involving the head and face as well as the neck and throat area. If any key contacts are made, we proceed to step 2.

Step 2 (Was there any foul play?) is a little more complicated. The referee is asked to consider whether contact with the head was deliberate, reckless or avoidable – for example the defender is always straight. If it was, the tackler would be penalized and would advance to Step 3. However, if contact with the head is not considered a foul, play continues.

Step 3 (What was the degree of threat?) – rated from high to low – determines the initial punishment.

The degree of high danger is assessed on any one of the following: direct contact rather than indirect, high-force impact, lack of control from the tackler, incident occurring at high speed, tackler moving forward with head/shoulder/elbow/arm or careless handling of the tackle. If the referee feels there is a high level of danger, a red card will be shown.

Meanwhile, low danger is judged as indirect contact, low force, low speed or no leading head/shoulder/arm/swinging hand and the opposition may be given a yellow card or even just a penalty.

The final stage, Step 4 (Is there a mitigation?) determines whether the punishment can be reduced by a grade (i.e. a red card to a yellow card or a yellow card to just a penalty). Mitigation includes a sudden or significant drop in height or change in direction from the ball carrier, a late change in mobility caused by another player in the contact area, an obvious attempt on the part of the tackler to reduce his height or the tackler not having time to adjust.

However, mitigation will never apply to illegal acts committed knowingly or with persistent dishonesty.

What about foul play review official/bunker review?

was introduced ahead of the 2023 Men’s Rugby World Cup Bunker Review System. This allows the referee to issue a yellow card to a player, sending them to the sin-bin while play is ongoing, where a Foul Play Review Official (FPRO) will take another look at the incident and determine whether the yellow card should be upgraded to a red, allowing play to continue rather than a long stoppage to debate it.

The referee crossed his arms to indicate that a bunker review had taken place.

Once a player is in the sin-bin, the FPRO has up to eight minutes to review the decision and decide whether he needs to be upgraded to a red card. If not, the player will return to the field after 10 minutes have elapsed in the sin-bin.

What is a 20 minute red card?

The referee will have the option to give a 20-minute red card for technical offences. Any act of foul play that is not considered intentional or deliberate will now be punished with a 20-minute red card for the player, rather than the permanent dismissal that previously occurred.

In these circumstances, the player committing the violation will be removed from the field of play for the remainder of the game, but his team will be able to replace that player after 20 minutes, with one of their available replacements returning to the team with 15 players.

This would stop permanent red cards being given for offenses such as accidental one-on-one contact, where teams would be reduced to 14 men for the remainder of the game.

Will there still be permanent red cards?

Yes. Wold Rugby has confirmed that referees will retain the ability to award permanent red cards for fouls deemed deliberate and dangerous. In that instance, the traditional red card means that a player cannot be replaced by his team after 20 minutes have passed and the player will receive a full sanction and subsequent disciplinary process.