\u2014 RT\u00c9 Sport (@RTEsport) November 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n At this stage I don\u2019t know which decisions I\u2019m in agreement with and which I\u2019m not. I thought I knew where I stood, now I find myself questioning my own reading of the game based on decisions being made on the pitch, those made by the TMO and by the reviewing officers in the bunker.<\/p>\n Before this is misinterpreted further, Ireland were beaten hands down last weekend.<\/a> They were physically dominated. And while they stopped a complete disaster with pride, resilience and impressive fitness levels, they were surviving for many parts of the game. It\u2019s a credit to them that they were one converted opportunity from a grandstand finish.<\/p>\n Matthew Carley had a very strong performance. He wasn\u2019t the reason that Ireland were dominated physically and he got most decisions right in a game that had an enormous amount of action. That can be true, while still being confused about certain decisions.<\/p>\n In Ireland\u2019s early moments of exchanging shots with South Africa, Tommy O\u2019 Brien was hit by a second defender with no arm wrap. It was a direct contact to the head with arguable mitigation.<\/p>\n In the previous number of weeks, the refereeing team stuck to the letter of the law and discounted any mitigation due to the tackle effort always being illegal. That\u2019s what it means when a player fails to wrap their arm in the tackle. The tackle never started with an attempt to wrap and therefore there is no reason to mitigate.<\/p>\n Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu put himself in a dangerous position when making the tackle. His tackle technique meant that his head was on the wrong side of the tackle. His choices were to duck out slightly, which resulted in swinging his shoulder into the contact and he hit Tommy O\u2019Brien dangerously, which sparked a reaction from Garry Ringrose.<\/p>\n Had the South African playmaker continued to hit with that shoulder with a firm arm wrap he would have needed to put his head on the wrong side of Tommy O\u2019Brien\u2019s body and he would have caused serious damage to himself. The collision would have been at high velocity.<\/p>\n Defenders are so desperate to make dominant hits and give no advantage to their opposition that they\u2019re never willing to reduce their force for safety reasons. Feinberg-Mngomezulu could have pushed O\u2019Brien downwards or he could have been more passive in the double tackle.<\/p>\n The game is played at ferocious speed and players don\u2019t always have time to think when entering the contact area. However, it\u2019s still a case of poor tackle technique and poor decision-making at high speeds in the heat of the battle. We\u2019re critical of players that can\u2019t run, pass or kick with the right decision at high speeds, this skill is no different only it can cause serious injury.<\/p>\n That is why referees have been encouraged to back player safety.<\/p>\n Feinberg-Mngomezulu was only reprimanded with a penalty. A moment that I feel has taken the understanding of the laws of the game at least two steps backwards.<\/p>\n To change tackle behaviours, referees have made incredibly unpopular, but correct, decisions. Once these are made consistently, behaviour will change and there\u2019ll be less contentious moments within the game. We won\u2019t stamp out every controversial action, but we can reduce them.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, this will have a detrimental effect on understanding the next high tackle. We now have no idea what the next outcome will be.<\/p>\n Lood de Jager was red carded for a similar tackle with no arm wrap as a secondary defender. The difference is he was incredibly low and he\u2019s a huge man. Feinberg-Mngomezulu made a tackle in a different plane and in slightly different circumstances, but how can it be any different?<\/p>\n I don\u2019t want to see players sin-binned or sent off. However, that\u2019s dependent on the behaviours that are within their control.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t disagree with the cards that Ireland received. You could argue one or two moments but, on the balance, they were deserving of their cards based on the actions that were within their control.<\/p>\n In fact, there could have been more, including O\u2019Brien\u2019s tackle on Canan Moodie. He got caught upright and looked like he was between two attackers. He came off a lot worse than Moodie did, but his action was still high.<\/p>\n If we want the game to remain safe and well understood by the many stakeholders, then we need to reduce the amount of confusion surrounding decisions.<\/p>\n If Feinberg-Mngomezulu left the field for a minimum of 10 minutes, I have no doubt that it would have changed how the game played out. I still don\u2019t believe that Ireland would have won the game.<\/p>\n South Africa became obsessed with physically punishing Ireland. It served a purpose. I\u2019m sure it will live long in the memory of Irish players, staff and supporters. It will be notched into the South African psyche. The result and outcome should never be disputed. Irish people need to suck it up and find answers.<\/p>\n The question remains though, where is this game going? How is this level of confusion helping anyone? It certainly doesn\u2019t serve the referees. They\u2019ve been plotted in the centre of a sport that is confused at its core.<\/p>\n We make strong decisions that force change based on player safety. We then shy away from those decisions and water down the effects by taking a weaker stance, just as change was being somewhat accepted.<\/p>\n A scuffle breaks out after Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s tackle on Tommy O’Brien. The Springbok fortunate to escape further sanction there.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcfa RT\u00c92![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/00238737-614.jpg\"\/)
\nSouth Africa’s win over Ireland was overshadowed by the card count <\/p>\n
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