Cards rule Round 1 of Super Rugby

2 options they could try: 1. Send the play off for 10mins but as soon as the full strength team scores any points the play is allowed back on. Stops just penalties and if they don't score the penalised team will have used up energy whilst making up for being a man down. 2. Instead of the first offence being an auto 10min why not mark the name down similar to football (with the exception of a clear red card offence). Then if that same player infringes again they go for 10? Essentially giving the player a warning etc...

Do away with the yellow card, didnt used to have cards, game was fine. Retain red card for dangerous play that impacts on player safety.

Agreed Brett. The only people who are calling for changes that will not occur are mainly Aussies and Kiwis. Fans of teams that consist of players that tackle too high (it is often the same players that do it) and/or lead with the shoulder which has never been allowed in Rugby. Was disappointed at Gregan suggesting that Higginbotham's card should have been a yellow. He lined Phillip up with a high shoulder charge and followed through with his forearm when he was falling to the ground. I remember Gregan playing in Brumbies- Sharks games where the Sharks players particularly Butch James were leading in with the shoulder with no intention of wrap his arms in a proper tackle. There was a huge outcry then over James' 'tackling' technique and his team mates who copped them were hit high as well. The news out of the AFL where past players are putting together a class action case against the AFL due to head injuries sustain in their careers. Mainly players who played in the 80s and 90s where off the ball hip and shoulder shirtfront hits were common and often players who put their head over the ball would cop a shoulder. This should send a message to Rugby players to think about what they are doing when making tackles.

How about we take a leaf out of the book of the big bash league Each yellow card offence, the other team gets a free hit on the offender

That's so crazy it might just work.

There is too much inconsistency and time wasting Some weeks a one handed, knock on, intercept attempts leads to a yellow card, this week three such attempts by the Stormers against the Tahs were not punished that way. Which is it? A yellow card or a penalty????? We then find ourselves drastically impacting BIP time watching endless replays as the ref tries to sort it out because of the impact it has on the outcome of a game.

If you don’t want spectators, keep ruining the games with red cards. Red cards should be used in very rare cases where there is deliberate and aggressive foul play where someone is injured. Now red cards are being fished out too liberally by Prima Donna refs . Look at me look at me , in the ref. These refs should be given the red card.

"What alternatives to prolific carding could help keep the game safe and fair?" Players playing within the Laws?

It was Round Two of Super Rugby, what needs to be done is players need to adjust their technique. They've had fifteen plus months!

Yes. No sin bin. Two yellow cards in a match is automatic red card and the player leaves the game but can be replaced. An accumulation of yellow cards over a number of matches brngs automatic suspension to the infringing player.

I remember another option put forward for a red which I liked. I think ti was 10 or 20 min from the field and then that play must be subbed

Red cards need to be reduced to 20 or 40 minutes. It's way too harsh to be a full man down for 71 minutes for the fans and teammates because of the actions of one player. By all means, the player responsible for the red shouldn't re-enter the field of play. But after 20 to 40 minutes a substitute should be allowed to come on.

Racking up the punishments to enormous levels just doesn't seem to work. Australia was founded by people sent to the other side of the world for in cases trivial offences. If that doesn't stop people nothing will. The card system looks like it came from soccer, with hardly any contact it's easy to use. When people are bashing into each other all the time, it's not so simple. To me it is like speeding fines, what started out as a good idea has grown into a monster with all sorts of vested interests living off the revenue stream.

without cards for cynical play it wouldn't be a fair contest either. Imagine an important final say rwc. Take out the opponents playmakers, stars and goalkickers by designated hitmen. No cards just penalties in retribution. The amount of cynical play to stop tries or even any attacking moves would profilerate. I do agree that a YC for both cycnical play and foul play seems incongruous. However it should be remembered the yc was originally brought in for persistent cynical play not for foul play. The bottom line blame the coaches and players for negative or unfair play not the ref or system. Why aren't the coaches adjusting and teaching he players to tackle lower and thus take a yc out of the equation? Because they want to stop offloads , keeping the ball alive. That is their tactical choice and take the associated risks.

Please I plea why cant officials deal with the guilty ones after the game. They can rule them out of many games as they like. Its not a fair contest playing with one guy short (red carded) or one guy short for ten minutes yellow carded). When I watch games like mentioned above I leave immediately..thx

You have to make a difference between cards . It is not the same to put the the players health in jeopardy than the knock down rule. It cannot have the same severity . In the case of Crotty with the high tackle is not the same as Delguy intentionally preventing a pass to go through .

Could not that potentially affect the result even more than a yellow card? Imagine if the ref calls a foul on your team in the 80th minute and deduct five points which lead to your team lose with one point. Sure, the players should know the rules and what risks they are taking, but I think yellow and red cards are fairer. And if a ref gets a call wrong that settles at a match in the final minutes...

At the bone, it has to be the players (and their coaches) that adapt to the laws. Only a loon does the same thing over and over again and expects a different outcome. In high-level sports winning is not everything, it is the only thing. So the answer to this has to be, adjust or die (lose). Another thing I think is overlooked in this debate is that usually when a player commits a foul, it is because he has been outsmarted by his opponents and the player is desperate and stressed to clean up the mess. To cry afterward is not very smart at all and frankly, it is very poor sportsmanship also. The advice I want to give players and coaches are: Man up, learn from your mistakes and move on.

Deduction of points from the offending players team total, say 3 or 5 points? then suspension after an appearance before the judiciary on Monday.

You could argue the carding system isn’t harsh enough. If the number of cards continue to rise it would suggest players are not adjusting to the laws. I do however hate the card system because of the influence it has on the game. The question however is what other measures can realistically work? Keep the player on the field and then dish out suspensions after the game?