There has been discussion about the red card that was handed during the first half of the Six Nations match between England and Ireland.
Just before halfway, England was reduced to 14 men for the remainder of the match, which completely changed the course of the match.
That took place after Freddie Steward was expelled for making contact with Hugo Keenan’s head. Although it appeared that the two players collided, Jaco Peyper ultimately concluded that there was not enough mitigation to prevent the red card once replays became available all blacks vs wallabies.
Clive Woodward and Brian O’Driscoll differ on the England red card.
At the interval, Brian O’Driscoll commented on ITV that even if Steward was a little unlucky, a red card was the right decision. Clive Woodward disagreed, using dubious reasoning to attempt and argue that it was only deserving of a yellow. This led to a back and forth between the two.
BOD: I believe it’s simply one of those extremely bad places, but he’s there to defend himself.
Steward moves in to prepare himself for a direct impact. If you remain square, your body will turn, which puts you in a weaker posture. Simply said, it was extremely unlucky that he was struck in the head directly by his elbow.
You witnessed the replay, and regardless of the knock-on, the defender has a duty of care to the attacker. That is not how he can lead with the shoulder. He strikes him directly in the head. Jaco Peyper came to the right decision, albeit it’s a challenging one to make…
None of us indicated whether it was a yellow or red card when you watched it live, Woodward added. It’s just something that happens in rugby. Steward enters as Keenan attempts to kick the ball but stumbles a little. Because he doesn’t think, “I’m going to injure this player,” Freddie Steward is not a dishonest player.
Despite being a yellow card in terms of a rugby incident, it is a red card according to the text of the law. Watch Rugby Online
