2023-10-05 11:53:43
Following World Rugby’s strict recommendations regarding dangerous play, referees are exercising increased severity. With in particular the appearance of the “bunker” to judge serious faults.
On the occasion of this tenth Rugby World Cup, World Rugby has placed emphasis on increased severity to combat dangerous play, particularly on tackles and clearances aimed at a player’s head. While 32 matches (out of 48) of the competition organized in France have already taken place, the referees have already distributed 39 yellow cards, an average of 1.22 per match, recalls the site At the time of Rugby . For comparison, there were “only” 19 distributed four years ago across the entire World Cup organized in Japan. To date, it was during the 2015 World Cup held in England (and won by the All Blacks) that there were the most yellows issued: 50 in all.
Furthermore, the same observation regarding red cards synonymous with expulsion (and sanctions subsequently), seven have already been distributed in 32 matches. That’s just one less than during the entire Japanese World Cup in 2019 (8), which at the time set a record in this area. Since the recent awareness regarding concussions, we have noticed that expulsions are much more numerous: there were no red cards in 2003, only two in 2007 and 2011, and only one in 2015.
The “bunker” used for the first time
For this World Cup, the International Federation implemented for the first time the use of the “bunker”, which allows a yellow card to be transformed into a red in the event of a dangerous and contentious action. From now on, the field referees remain the main decision-makers, but they can have the fouls analyzed by a “Foul Play Review Officer” (FPRO), located in what is called “the bunker” (in an isolated place), when ‘a red card is not easy. Rather than directly issuing a red card for a dangerous action, the referees call on the FPRO who has eight minutes to judge whether a yellow card should be transformed into a red.
This is what happened after the head-to-head clash between the Namibian Johan Deysel and Antoine Dupont, seriously injured after a bad move. Voices were raised to deplore the fact that the Tongan scrum-half Agustine Pulu had not received a similar sanction for almost the same gesture on the South African winger Makazole Mapimpi, who had subsequently had to forfeit for the rest of the competition. “He has a fracture of the orbital floor, his eyes are swollen, his cheekbone is also affected. A priori, he has four to six weeks», Said Rassie Erasmus, the Springboks rugby director.
During the first week of the competition, several contentious actions caused controversy. What World Rugby recognized: “The referee teams recognize that their performances during the first weekend of the World Cup were not up to the standards set by World Rugby and themselves.” Since then, the men with the whistle have increased their severity. Which should lead to a record 2023 World Cup in terms of boxes.
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