Coach Ackermann demands more consistency from referees

Johan Ackermann has questioned the inconsistency of Gallagher Premiership referees in dealing with foul play. The Gloucester coach was speaking after Worcester full-back Chris Pennell received a yellow card for taking out Charlie Sharples in the air during the home side’s victory on Saturday.

And while the South African had no issues with the referee’s decision, he did question why his teams had received red cards for similar incidents in the past.

“I don’t like red cards because it takes the contest out of the game, but in the past there have been similar incidents which would have resulted in a red card,” he said. “I think a yellow was probably the right call. The reality of the game is that the safety of players comes first, but we don’t always understand the decisions because they are made in a split second.

“For me a red card must be a blatant thing such as a punch or a kick where there is no excuse and if it’s an accident then they should just leave it to the citing commissioners to take it further.”

Gloucester’s bonus-point victory over Alan Solomons’ team moved them up to third in the table. A brace of tries by Ollie Thorley, plus touchdowns from James Hanson, Sharples, Freddie Clarke and Jaco Visagie along with six points from the boot of Billy Twelvetrees saw off Worcester.

All the visitors could muster was one try from Bryce Heem and 11 points from Duncan Weir’s kicking.

“It’s never good to get a yellow card and play with 14 men,” said Solomons. “But it made no difference to the result. Overall they outmuscled us. Rugby is a game of collisions and they completely dominated the collisions.”