Rugby (in)justice
Are high profile teams being given an easy ride where cards, citings and bans are concerned? For the Irish Times of Tuesday, September 29th, 2015.
There is a particular focus on discipline under Joe Schmidt. Giving up penalties results in lost territory, lost points and lost games. With 17 penalties conceded over two matches, according to Opta, Ireland and New Zealand lead the early discipline stakes, with France’s 30 at the other end of the scale. But taking the tournament as a whole, is rugby’s punishment system being applied fairly?
The post-match disciplinary scoreboard is worth a look. Two Fijians and a Romanian have received one-match bans apiece for dangerous tackles. Argentine lock Mariano Galarza earned a nine-week ban for making contact with the eye area of New Zealand’s Brodie Retallick. It might well be noted that Galarza had been on the pitch as a replacement for Guido Petti Pagadizábal, the Argentinian try-scorer who was replaced after making cranial contact with the boot of Dan Carter as he dove over the try-line.
On more high-profile teams, some have been more fortunate. England’s Tom Woodreceived a citing commissioner’s warning (equivalent to a post-match yellow card) after his boot struck the head of Welsh fullback Liam Williams with significant force during Saturday’s vital pool match at Twickenham, leading to the player being stretchered off…
