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Former England captain Will Carling has called into question World Rugby’s judiciary committee after Tom Curry was banned for two World Cup fixtures on Monday.
Curry, who was shown a red card in the opening minutes for a front-on tackle against Argentina on Saturday, accepted a three-match ban that was reduced to two games for agreeing to go to tackle school for his high shot.
He will miss England’s Tests against Japan and Chili as a result.
“The player accepted that foul play occurred and that the offence warranted a red card,” a World Rugby statement read.
“The Committee noted that the offence carries a mandatory minimum mid-range sanction (six matches), and having considered the mitigating factors, including admission of foul play and correctness of the red card at the first opportunity, an exemplary disciplinary record, apology to the player and good character, reduced the sanction by the maximum mitigation of 50 per cent.”
Tom Curry has been banned for two Tests after colliding with Juan Cruz Mallia of Argentina at Stade Velodrome on September 09, 2023 in Marseille. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Curry didn’t challenge the ban, likely believing it was more of a risk to challenge and lose and therefore miss their World Cup knockout matches than sit out Tests against Japan and Chili.
Yet, the decision has been slammed in some quarters.
Not only did Curry make head-on-head contact with a player returning from the air but the force was minimal.
Less than 24 hours later, head-on-head contact from an upright Jesse Kriel on Scotland’s Jack Dempsey was missed by onfield referee Angus Gardner.
Nor was it picked up by the Television Match Official or the post-match judiciary panel.
In many respects, the incident looked worse than the one that saw Curry had his yellow card upgraded to red.
While former England winger Chris Ashton said Curry had taken a risk by attempting a high body tackle from a man coming down from the air, former World Cup-winning coach Clive Woodward said rugby was in trouble if the back-rower was sent off for such an incident.
“It was just an accident. Curry’s head-on-head contact with Juan Cruz Mallia was what I call a ‘rugby incident,” Woodward wrote in the Daily Mail.
“The sport is in trouble in my opinion if those sorts of collisions are deemed worthy of a sending off. Whether or not there is intent in a player’s actions should not and does not impact a referee’s decision. I understand that.
“But I really do not know what Curry was supposed to do to not get into that position.”
Carling, a respected voice and former England captain, called into question the consistency given Kriel’s high shot wasn’t looked at while Chilean captain Martin Sigren didn’t have his yellow card upgraded.
“What rugby really needs is consistency and clarity when it comes to foul play,” Carling tweeted.
“To ban @TomCurry98 and not to ban two other players for almost identical incidents just leads to frustration and confusion. Not helpful when wanting to market the game.”
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.