The Six Nations unions are set to call for a review of the laws around yellow cards for scrum infringements following the Springboks\u2019 manhandling of Ireland.<\/p>\n
South Africa<\/a> claimed a 24-13 victory over the Irish at the Aviva Stadium in November, a fixture marred by the six cards issued on the night, including a red card to James Ryan.<\/p>\n Two of the yellow cards were issued to Ireland<\/a> loosehead props Andrew Porter and Paddy McCarthy, who were sin-binned for repeated indiscretions in the scrums, where the Springboks had clear dominance.<\/p>\n No more cards for weak scrums?<\/p>\n The sin-binning of the two front-rowers has caused much debate, as many believe that players should not be yellow-carded simply for being outpowered at the scrum. The fairness of such sanctions will reportedly be discussed by the Six Nations<\/a> bigwigs when they meet before the tournament in the new year.<\/p>\n The Times reports that the meeting could result in the Six Nations unions issuing a proposal at World Rugby<\/a>\u2019s Shape of the Game conference in February, where law changes can be brought in, usually after trials.<\/p>\n It adds that any law changes wouldn\u2019t be pushed through by World Rugby until after the 2027 Rugby World Cup, as per the governing body\u2019s rule, meaning that it would not depower one of the Boks\u2019 most lethal weapons before the tournament.<\/p>\n \u201cIn what other sport can you be sent off basically for not being as good or as strong as your opponent?\u201d One senior rugby figure told The Times.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe dominant scrum is already gaining a penalty as an advantage and then that is compounded by a yellow card. A yellow card should only be shown if a player tries to gain an advantage by breaking the rules or for dangerous tackles.\u201d<\/p>\n The report adds that those who want to review the laws around yellow cards at the scrum don\u2019t want to depower the set-piece, but don\u2019t believe that players should be sin-binned for being weaker or less technically proficient than their opponent.<\/p>\n Springboks \u2018beasts can\u2019t catch, pass or run\u2019 but World Rugby refs can change that, ex-Leinster fly-half claims<\/a><\/p>\n Nigel Owens\u2019 view<\/p>\n Former referee Nigel Owens weighed in on yellow cards being issued to front rowers who are losing the scrum battle on World Rugby\u2019s Whistle Watch<\/a> show.<\/p>\n On the show, former Wales centre Jamie Roberts argued that the scrum is possibly the facet in the game where the discrepancy in quality is at its highest.<\/p>\n Owens agreed and stated that front-rowers shouldn\u2019t be yellow carded for simply going backwards in the scrums but often, a team that is being dominated, deploy tactics like collapsing the set-piece to hide the fact that they are the weaker pack. He adds that if a prop is doing everything legally but is still going backwards, they shouldn\u2019t be sin-binned.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, you\u2019re right. When I mentioned to you earlier about England v Ireland in Twickenham 2013 or 2014. I think it was one or two penalty tries against Ireland, a lot of penalties in the scrums, and I didn\u2019t bin anybody,\u201d Owens said in reply to Roberts\u2019 statement.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the reason why I didn\u2019t bin the player was that I felt that he was doing nothing wrong. He\u2019s just being driven back. He\u2019s losing the battle against a good England front row, and the guy is going back, he\u2019s going up, he\u2019s going down. He\u2019s not taking it down himself; it\u2019s just the force of the like we saw on the weekend, I think.<\/p>\n