Wales player thought referee had seen red
Wales No 8 Ross Moriarty had only been on the field for 90 seconds when he had a sinking feeling during the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against France.
The 26-year-old mistimed his tackle on Gael Fickou, striking the French midfield back in the neck in the 29th minute. Referee Jaco Peyper reached into his pocket, prompting Moriarty to say: ‘‘It’s not a red, is it?’’
The backrower – who had replaced an injured Josh Navidi in the 27th minute – seemed to think the South African match official had said yes, but later seemed relieved when Peyper confirmed a yellow card.
Former Wales halfback Mike Phillips – a pundit on ITV’s World Cup coverage in Britain – thought Moriarty looked a worried man.
‘‘You could see in his face he was panicking,’’ said Phillips, who played for Wales in the 2011 World Cup semifinal against France where Welsh captain Sam Warburton was sent off for a dangerous tackle.
He said Moriarty was ‘‘a passionate guy. . . international rugby is all about controlling your emotions.’’
Wales coach Warren Gatland said Moriarty’s sinbinning came at an inopportune time for Wales.
‘‘The yellow card was disappointing because we felt like we were getting back into the game.
‘‘Then we had to go into a mode of just eating up the clock and get back to 15 men. That was important. It stopped a little momentum that we’d tried to create in the first half.’’
Moriarty returned to the field after his indiscretion and scored the match winning try in the 74th minute when he got another lucky break from Peyper after the South African referee ruled, following video replays, that the ball had not strayed forward when halfback Tomos Williams’ stripped it from a French defender.
Provided he is not cited to appear before the judiciary for his yellow card offence, Moriarty could become the third member of his family to play in a World Cup semi-final.
His father, Paul, and uncle Richard Moriarty played in Wales’ 49-6 defeat to the All Blacks at the inaugural World Cup tournament in 1987. Richard Moriarty suffered his only defeat in eight tests as Wales captain in that match in Brisbane. He later led them to a 22-21 win over Australia in the bronze medal match.