There is of course the return of Antoine Dupont, captain of the French XV, after an international season dedicated to rugby 7s. The arrival of the All Blacks at the Stade de France for a always eagerly awaited shock against the Blues. Or the visit to Europe of the South African world champions a year after their world coronation. But one of the subjects of this fall tour is going to be in the hands of the referees. Officials will have the possibility of drawing a 20-minute red card, a new feature that is as scrutinized as it is controversial.
What is the 20-minute red card?
Until recently, individual sanctions were divided into two categories: the yellow card, synonymous with forced ten minutes on the sidelines for the offender. And the red card, which like in football, definitively excluded the player concerned. Too simple for a sport with complicated rules, so the international authorities have thought about it. First there was the “bunker”, a video device used during the World Cup in France to determine during the ten minutes of yellow banishment whether the fault was ultimately not worth red. And now there is the 20-minute red card.
This, the start of the experimentation of which was validated by World Rugby in May, still allows a player to be definitively expelled individually. But after twenty minutes at fourteen, the sanctioned team has the possibility of bringing in a new element and continuing the game on equal terms with its opponent. The player sanctioned by red remains excluded until the end of the game.
The measure was tested this summer during various competitions such as the Women’s XV, the Under-20 World Cup and the Pacific Nations Cup. A novelty among a series of reforms proposed by the international federation.
How will it be used on the fall tour?
Six Nations Rugby, in charge of organizing these international matches played on European soil in November, announced in October that this red card would also be tested in these matches. But optional. “The referees will retain the possibility of sanctioning with a definitive red card unfair play deemed deliberate and dangerous,” describes the body. However, referees will have the option of only issuing a 20-minute red card for technical fouls. » Or those considered “unintentional”.
“Unless there is a very obvious situation, the central referee will not issue a red card directly,” believes former international referee Mathieu Raynal, member of the technical refereeing unit of the French rugby federation (FFR). The process put in place does not allow them to put that 20 minute red on their own, the player has to be in the bunker first. So the referee will give a yellow, and let the referee in charge of the bunker decide whether to raise it to a red at 20 minutes. » And unlike the World Cup, this official no longer has the power to issue a definitive red card.
Who is opposed to it and why?
The rule has its stated opponents, France in the lead. The FFR, the National League and the players’ union, Provale, jointly affirmed in October their opposition to this new type of expulsion. “Transforming this sanction into a temporary expulsion could encourage dangerous behavior, thus compromising the safety of the players, which must remain the absolute priority,” they insist in their press release. “I think it’s an aberration,” tackles the third row of the Blues, Grégory Alldritt. The Irish federation has also made known its opposition to this principle.
Conversely, nations in the Global South are in favor of reform. “We are the only sport in the world to create such an imbalance and expect fans to come and pay for it,” points out the general director of the New Zealand federation, Mark Robinson. A year ago, the All Blacks lost (12-11) the World Cup final against South Africa after a red card inflicted on their captain, Sam Cane, in the 29th minute.
The referee for this match, Wayne Barnes, also spoke in favor of this rule, arguing that it will reduce pressure on officials and players alike. Other supporters of the reform point to the increase in the number of red cards linked to involuntary impacts to the head, caused by the increased intensity of matches.
“It’s a combat sport with intensity, but it must be controlled,” says Mathieu Raynal. As a referee, you defend the yellow card if you have the space to put it and the red is not clear. But if the behavior observed is not tolerable, we must take out this strong sanction which has meaning. That of saying that we do not want this behavior on the pitch. »
World rugby leaders will decide on the relevance of the novelty on November 14, with a World Rugby vote planned to approve or not the novelty. Opposed or not, the staff began to adapt to it. “We have to deal with it, we have to manage to play as well as possible with the rules,” says Laurent Sempéré, co-coach of the Blues’ conquest. Jérôme Garcès (former referee now in the French staff) helps us a lot at this level by being very precise. The 20-minute red card will give us new options in terms of coaching. The most important thing is to adapt as quickly as possible to make the best use of it. »
