Orange cards could be used at this year's World Cup

ORANGE cards could be used at this year’s Rugby World Cup to allow officials to review decisions in a bid to avoid controversies after Freddie Steward’s wrongful dismissal for England against Ireland in the Six Nations

• World Rugby have confirmed they are considering a yellow card review system
• The system would follow similar trial which is ongoing in Super Rugby Pacific
•  An orange card could be shown to a player with a TMO taking a final decision

Orange cards could be used by referees at this year’s World Cup, in a bid to avoid controversies such as the wrongful dismissal of England full back Freddie Steward in Dublin last month.

World Rugby’s head of match officials, Joel Jutge, has confirmed that they are considering the use of a yellow card review system during the tournament in France in the autumn. It is being trialled in Super Rugby Pacific, where it is being well received as a means of speeding up games and improving the response to offences, and it may be further assessed in the Rugby Championship this summer.

Whereas the southern hemisphere trials also involve temporary red cards, the World Cup version would be based on retaining the principle of a sending-off being final. But borderline decisions would be subject to review — with a player potentially shown an orange card and sent to the sin-bin for 10 minutes, allowing a second on-duty television match official to assess footage and rule whether he can return or have the card ‘upgraded’ to red.

Jutge, speaking to French newspaper Midi Olympique, said: ‘This is an operation being tested in Super Rugby. In the event of a 50-50 decision, the referee has the possibility of giving a yellow card so that the game can resume as soon as possible, while the TMO has 10 minutes of temporary expulsion to decide whether this should be turned into a permanent expulsion. We would give orange cards, clearly.’

There is a determination at World Rugby to avoid repeats of the episode involving Steward. The Leicester player was sent off by South African referee Jaco Peyper during England’s final Six Nations game against Ireland after he had collided with Hugo Keenan, who was left concussed. Peyper stated that he had no alternative but to show a red card. However, there was a furious backlash and, days later, a judicial committee overturned the decision.

England full back Freddie Steward was wrongly sent off against Ireland in Dublin last month

World Rugby are keen to avoid a repeat during the Rugby World Cup in France this Autumn

Earlier this month, Montpellier’s English No 8, Zach Mercer, became another victim of over-zealous officiating as he was sent off for what was deemed to be a dangerous tackle on Christ Tshiunza of Exeter. The red card was rescinded by the disciplinary panel and the powers that be were left to rue a major match being tarnished by a row over a contentious call.

The review system makes a lot of sense. Primarily, it should reduce the risk of injustice, although Jutge was at pains to point out it will not be perfect. ‘We will continue to work hard to ensure there are as few mistakes as possible, like the red card Zach Mercer received with Montpellier,’ he said. ‘But during the World Cup, these kinds of issues will arise.’

Super Rugby are encouraged by the results of their trial. It was intended as a way to speed up the game by ending the curse of drawn-out video review stoppages. Examination of footage takes place away from the field, once the offender has been removed and the game has resumed.

After four rounds of this season’s campaign, average match duration had dropped from 98 minutes to 91 minutes, 46 seconds. Tournament director Matt Barlow said: ‘We are thrilled to see the data bearing out the objectives of the law variations.’

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