1 week Ago By [email protected] (Michael Scully)
The IRFU agrees with Ronan O'Gara that a 20-minute red card is not the way forward for the sport. Former Ireland great and current La Rochelle head coach O'Gara strongly opposed the proposal on Off The Ball today, describing it as "nonsense" and claimed it "opened the door" to indiscipline, adding: "we could be re-entering dangerous territory." Following the announcement from the French Rugby Federation coming out against the proposal, the IRFU has said it does not support the permanent adoption of a 20-minute red card.
READ MORE: Mack Hansen ruled out of Connacht v Leinster as teams named for URC duel READ MORE: Connacht star to miss only two URC fixtures despite picking up a four game suspension In a statement, the Irish union said it backed the decision to allow referees to award a permanent red card in the upcoming November Test games if the situation warranted it. "Player welfare and safety are paramount to the core values of the game and the option of a permanent red card for deliberate and intentional acts of foul play supports those values and protects the integrity of the game," read the statement. "The IRFU welcomes the variation to World Rugby’s closed law trial, which will be adopted in the upcoming Autumn Nations Series, whereby match officials will retain the ability to award a permanent red card for acts of foul play which are deemed deliberate and dangerous.
"Match officials will also have the option of a 20-minute red card for technical acts of foul play deemed not to be deliberate or intentional. "In these circumstances, the player will be removed from the field of play with the offending team able to replace that player after 20 minutes, with one of their available replacements, which was also trialled in this year’s Rugby Championship." Andy Farrell's Ireland take on New Zealand on November 8 in the first of the Autumn series games, followed by encounters with Argentina, Australia and Fiji, with all four games taking place at the Aviva Stadium.
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