20-minute red gets go-ahead
PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 28: Sam Cane of Team New Zealand (not pictured) receive a red card by referee, Wayne Barnes during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 Gold Final match between New Zealand and South Africa at Stade de France on October 28, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images)
Referees will have the option to show a 20-minute red card during the autumn internationals.
Teams will lose a player for the rest of the match in cases of “deliberate and dangerous” foul play, but technical offences such as accidental head contact can be punished with a player being sent off, but replaced by a team-mate after 20 minutes.
The French Rugby Federation and Irish Rugby Union do not support 20-minute red cards replacing permanent red cards. The RFU will consider the evidence from this autumn before taking a stance on the issue.
The possibility of the 20-minute version becoming the only red card available to refs is to be discussed at a World Rugby meeting on November 14.
