His attitude to foul play was a determined policy of zero tolerance. Kelleher\u2019s views were so well known that players generally behaved when he was about the place. Meads apart, he only found it necessary to send off a player on one other occasion throughout his illustrious career. As Meads trudged off into the history books, where Kelleher would join him, the uninjured Chisholm was largely forgotten.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t the most violent of kicks, but it was still a kick, plain and simple <\/p>\n
Meads\u2019 dismissal was the first sending-off at international level since 1924, all of 43 years earlier. On that occasion, Welsh referee Albert Freethy dismissed another New Zealander, Cyril Brownlie, against England. <\/p>\n
So, it was bound to provoke uproar. Despite it not being the hardest of kicks by Meads, the dismissal could not be criticised, even though of course it was. <\/p>\n
Recent happenings reminded me of the event. I\u2019ve listened to strong arguments that a red-carded headbutt wasn\u2019t really that violent, there wasn\u2019t really much force in it.<\/p>\n
Kicking and headbutting are in the egregious foul-play category, along with eye-gouging and some other pretty choice offences. These acts go against every value the game rightly prides itself on and needs for its long-term existence. They cannot be allowed to enter the culture of the sport. <\/p>\n
If we accept that premise, then the arguments that they come in varying degrees of seriousness have no validity whatsoever. These offences must be standalone, immediate red cards and should be viewed with the same zero tolerance demonstrated by Kelleher. <\/p>\n
An interesting aside is that Kelleher and Meads became good friends. The referee travelled to New Zealand many years later to present the player with the whistle he had used on that fateful day.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, coaches have quite an influence into the laws and how the game is officiated. In terms of on-pitch sanctions for foul play, the wisdom of allowing them to be involved is questionable. I say this because whenever foul-play trends have emerged, the coaches have nearly always \u2013 if unsurprisingly \u2013 taken a liberal approach.<\/p>\n
![\"Ulster's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ARQC35JFW5AIDJA7TUOMDG5BPU.jpg\")
Ulster’s Jared Payne tackles Alex Goode of Saracens in a 2014 Heineken Cup quarter-final. Photograph: Brian Little\/Inpho\/Presseye <\/p>\n
We can, for example, go back to 2014 and the quarter-final of the Heineken Cup. Ulster<\/a>\u2019s Jared Payne upended Alex Goode of Saracens, who was leaping high to catch the ball. Payne barely got off the ground and Goode was tipped over, knocked senseless when he landed and stretchered off. Of course, it was not deliberate, but it was highly dangerous. <\/p>\n