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Generally I am not a fan of conspiracy theories, particularly of the political genre.
But I am beginning to wonder about the treatment of the rugby minnows at the World Cup. I speak in particular about the proliferation of red cards issued to the lesser nations.
Up until the start of this week the stats are telling: Samoa (three red cards), Italy (two), Uruguay, Argentina, USA and Australia (one each).
Notice anything? So the major nations (other than Australia) are squeaky clean. No foul play warranting a red card.
Having watched Fiji vs Wales, I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that the big boys almost always seem to get the rub of the green.
The Welsh hooker Kenny Owens – while receiving a yellow for a tip tackle – clearly took the Fijian player well through the horizontal. Listening to the discourse between the officials, he was apparently saved a red because through sheer good luck the Fijian landed on his back!
The odious TMO Ben Skeen, totally out of character, did not try to persuade Jérôme Garcès to issue a red.
The Welsh meanwhile spent large portions of the match lying all over the ball and Fijian players, in order to stop the Fijian players’ up-tempo style of play with little or no intervention by Garcès except when a Fijian – out of frustration – hurtled no arms into a ruck and cleaned out a Welsh player by connecting with his back, which warranted a yellow card.
This is but one illustration of the apparent inconsistencies in the treatment of players from different countries.
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
TV ratings depend on attracting large audiences. Major nations attract large TV audiences. Advertisers want large audiences. The likes of Samoa, Uruguay, Italy and others do not produce large audiences and consequent revenue.
It is remarkable that, with the exception of Reece Hodge, no-one from a major nation has been red-carded. Indeed, some countries seem almost immune to yellow cards and some prominent players especially seem immune from referee scrutiny. To punish such leading players – no names, no pack drill – would damage the TV audience and ratings.
While I am not a huge fan of Drew Mitchell, his rage about Ben Skeen’s performance at this World Cup was palpable at the half-time break of the Wales vs Fiji match.
I am not suggesting refereess and officials – other than Skeen, who clearly regards himself as much bigger and more important than the game – are corrupt.
I am suggesting there is a disposition by match officials to scrutinise some teams and some players more closely than others and to look for penalties/yellow cards/red cards as more likely to come from certain teams and certain players.
We know that referees often form a view about one team’s scrummaging technique and such teams suffer accordingly. It is not too much of a stretch for them to come to a similar mindset about foul play.
It is both regrettable and commercially unsatisfactory that one of the key talking points and most prominent issues of this tournament is the performance of match officials and the men in their precious blazers hiding behind those officials.
The interference in the flow of games is a blight.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.