Former Test referee Nigel Owens says the 20-minute red card law trialled during the 2022 Rugby Championship is similar to dropping fines for speeding.
Sanzaar confirmed on Thursday that the law, which allows a red-carded player to be replaced after 20 minutes, will once again be trialled during the southern hemisphere competition, which gets under way next week.
The law was implemented on a trial basis throughout Super Rugby in 2020, 2021 and 2022 as well as the Rugby Championship in 2021.
However, it was not part of the European club competitions, including the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, and World Rugby opted against allowing it for the recently concluded July internationals.
Sanzaar’s decision has been announced in the same week that former professionals suffering the effects of brain damage took legal action against World Rugby.
In a lively debate with fans on social media, Owens said that allowing teams to replace a player who has been sent off will reduce the deterrent against dangerous play.
“The deterrent to change player behaviour is much more effective if the team is down to 14 men for the rest of the game than if it is just for 20 minutes,” he said. “Drop the speeding fines to a few quid and one point on your licence and you won’t be as careful keeping to the speed limit.”
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The Welshman added: “You won’t have a game for fans to go to if we don’t change these reckless/careless tackles that can cause serious head injury. If you’re happy to have entertainment before player safety then that’s disappointing.”
In another conversation around the controversial decision that saw Ireland prop Andrew Porter escape a red card for a tackle which left All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick with a facial injury, Owens admitted that players should not be sent off for accidental head contact.
“Porter should have been a red card. Players don’t need to do that type of action in the game. All he had to do was dip to make the tackle. He had plenty of time to do so. That’s what needs changing, not a 20-minute red card to paper over the cracks.
“It takes away the deterrent of a red card in my view and does not help with getting change in player behaviour when it comes to the issue of reckless/careless tackles that make contact with the head area. This is not helpful with the drive for player safety.
“What is sensible is that players should not be sent off for unavoidable accidental head contact. A red card should be for an act of thuggery, recklessness or downright stupidity or total carelessness which he or she could have avoided.
“It’s impossible to have a game of rugby without sometimes contact being made to the head when no one is at fault. If it’s a complete accident and no one’s at fault it should not be a red card.”
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