Why rugby discipline has hit a new low
Referees are handing out more cards than ever but, while traditionalists fume, there are good reasons for the crackdown
The referees know it, the coaches know it, and the players know it – 19 yellow cards in one round of the Gallagher Premiership, as happened last weekend, is a nadir.
Whereas in the previous round of fixtures the league happily tied the record for most tries scored in one weekend, the latest round was the worst in Premiership history for discipline, with the most yellow cards in a weekend – and three reds, too.
The Premiership has been averaging eight cards per weekend this season. That is, by some stretch, the worst ever. On average, one player has been sent off in every round of the 2020-21 season – far beyond anything seen before – and seven players have seen yellow.
Since 2015, the average number of yellow cards per round has been around four. The leap to seven is far above the average of the past five years and above all seasons except 2013-14, when it was equalled.
The man responsible for five of the Premiership’s 19 yellow cards last weekend is Christophe Ridley, who handled Sale’s 20-19 win against Wasps at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday. The Premiership and international referee admits that the indiscipline nadir is a “teething period”, but he is not concerned about the traditionalist fears of it inhibiting rugby’s strength as a sport. “I have seen some of the most entertaining rugby I’ve seen for many years over the past eight weeks,” Ridley, 27, tells The Daily Telegraph. “The Six Nations was fantastic and, although there were cards in the Premiership, we were looking at one-point, two-point games.
“I don’t think [the cards are] killing the game – and I don’t think it’s a case of patience. For the traditionalist who’s watching rugby just to enjoy the game, now is the time to enjoy rugby more than ever.”
The spike in cards this season requires some qualitative sifting, too. “In my game last weekend, there were five yellow cards and three of them were not for foul play,” he says. “Two were for deliberate knock-ons and another was for a maul collapse near the goal-line; only two were for high tackles. So, although there were lots of cards at the weekend, many would still have existed three years ago. Saying that these cards have come as a result of changes that have happened in the game – I’m not sure that’s quite accurate. It’s not a case of referees being card-happy, but there is a clear separation between yellow cards for technical offences – which haven’t changed – and yellow cards for foul play, for which we have this new head-contact process.”
It is a framework that was developed by the players for the players, with input from coaches and referees. This is being driven by the present crop, but the ramifications it could have on future generations should not be understated.
“This is not just about now and the games this weekend,” Ridley says. “This is about players’ futures above and beyond their careers. And it’s not just about them; it’s about the kid in 20 years’ time making the decision as to whether he wants to pick up a rugby ball. We want to continue promoting a game that is not only protecting players now but is also seen as being a safe game for children in the future.
“Head-injury prevention is a No1 priority, but there is absolutely still the opportunity for referees to say, ‘That’s unavoidable, let’s play on’. Referees will not lose the feel of the game. We still need to be able to have a good sense of whether there is any fault within the collision by either player. It’s not just a case of saying, ‘There is a collision so there must be fault by somebody’.”
The cards this season are being justified as a necessary evil to ensure rugby’s long-term sustainability. In terms of the present, however, a new disciplinary low is an inescapable fact that might require some addressing. One method for that, Ridley believes, is maintaining the two-way dialogue between clubs and officials. He says: “It’s not ‘us versus them’. We have relationships with these clubs, we talk to the coaches, players. They learn from us, we learn from them.
“We referee training sessions, we look at clips with the coaches, sometimes players ask about aspects of their game to paint better pictures.”
Leicester are one of those clubs. Only Sale have conceded more yellow cards this season than the Tigers, whose director of rugby Steve Borthwick believes the balance will only be recalibrated through hard work. “What we need to do is lower the height,” he says. “You quite rightly can’t have head contact, so we need to play lower. When someone has been playing at the top level for a decade and has learnt the game at a certain height, trying to change that in a few days, weeks or months is a challenge. But we’re trying.”
There is a sense, then, that the genie is out of the bottle. There will be no reversion, it is a case of conform or be outperformed. When judging individual decisions in the middle of a white-hot encounter, referees will not be unconsciously swayed by the rising tally. This is here to stay.