The Rugby World Cup final was a busy night for the match officials led by Wayne Barnes and also the off-field bunker, the anonymous official who judges whether yellow cards should be upgraded to red.
New Zealand’s captain Sam Cane had a yellow card upgraded to a red for a high tackle on Jesse Kriel, before South Africa captain Siya Kolisi’s yellow card for a high tackle on Ardie Savea, which stayed at a yellow card. But what were the differences between the two decisions? And should Beauden Barrett’s second-half try have been awarded after a possible forward pass in the build-up?
Sam Cane sent off, 28th minuteWhat happened?Cane became the first player to be sent off in a men’s Rugby World Cup final following a high tackle on South Africa’s Jesse Kriel. The incident occurred when Kriel changed direction before being hit by Cane, with the All Black’s shoulder making contact with Kriel’s head.
Given Cane’s upright body position going into the tackle, even taking into account Kriel’s late change of direction, there was no mitigation which could be applied given the considerable force.
On the field, Barnes acknowledged that Cane was upright and made contact with the head and that there was foul play, with direct head contact meaning a yellow card.
After the check, Barnes called over the new captain, Ardie Savea, to inform him that the yellow card had been upgraded, noting that there was a high degree of danger and no mitigation.
What did the pundits say?Sam Warburton, the former Wales and British and Irish Lions captain, said at the time Cane was shown yellow that he would be nervous if he were Cane, noting that regardless of Kriel’s body position, Cane had not bent into the tackle.
After the bunker decision, Warburton added that because Cane was so upright, he was not painting a good picture and had made it tough for the referee to show any leniency.
At half-time in the ITV studio, former All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick acknowledged that the incident was a red card. “I feel very sorry for him, but when you look at it like that in real time it’s a red card unfortunately,” Fitzpatrick said.
Former Ireland and Lions captain Brian O’Driscoll added that the officials came to the right decision, given that the officials were looking for a hinge at the hips and the contact was chest-on-chest, saying that Cane could have no complaints given he had a clear line of sight. O’Driscoll described it as a very clear red card.
Was the correct decision made?Yes. Given the lack of mitigation, Cane had to be sent off.
Foul play was flagged by the television match official Tom Foley to Barnes, who consulted the big screen. Replays showed that after Ardie Savea came to ground after making a catch, Duane Vermuelen made the initial tackle on Savea before Kolisi, coming in as the second tackler, made contact with the head of the All Blacks No 8.
On the field, Barnes ruled that Kolisi was upright coming into the tackle and was at fault, meaning there was foul play, noting that Kolisi had come from a distance and there was head contact, meaning the incident met the minimum of the yellow card threshold. Foley agreed.
The bunker after a review agreed that the decision warranted a yellow card.
What did the pundits say?Speaking as the incident was being reviewed, former England lock Ben Kay said on ITV that he was not sure if there was direct contact, noting that while the heads did collide “there was a fair bit going through Kolisi’s shoulder into the shoulder of Savea”, suggesting it might stay as a yellow.
Warburton agreed, suggesting that the contact was slightly lower and noting that Kolisi was bent at the hip. “You can see his body angle, his spine is much closer to being horizontal to the ground than Cane’s, for example,” Warburton said, adding that he believed Kolisi had mainly made contact with the shoulder. Warburton concluded: “I think he is going to get away from that.”
Was the correct decision made?Yes. While head contact was made, Kolisi showed a clear intent to hinge at the hips and the initial contact was through the shoulder.
With a penalty advantage being played New Zealand, desperate for a try, continued to attack in South Africa’s 22. Jordie Barrett threw a looping wide pass to Mark Telea, who cut inside to keep the attack going. As he was tackled from behind by Damian Willemse, Telea attempted to offload to Beauden Barrett on the outside. The ball went to ground, with Beauden Barrett picking it up on the bounce and scoring in the corner.
Barnes immediately awarded the try. Following that he explained that the ball had come out of Telea’s hands backwards before bouncing forwards, meaning that it was not a knock-on and the try was good. The score was not referred to the television match official.
What did the pundits say?Kay expressed surprise that the officials had already checked the decision, before adding that Telea’s hands had gone backwards before the ball bounced forwards, stressing that the initial movement of the ball was backwards, meaning the try was good.
Warburton disagreed, believing that the ball had gone forwards. Kay added that it appeared as the ball had come out of the fingers forwards.
Was the correct decision made?The incident should absolutely have been checked by the television match official using multiple angles to determine whether the ball had come out of Telea’s hands forwards or backwards. Without those replays, it is difficult to make a final decision on whether the try should have been awarded.
