England lost to New Zealand in the final of the Women's Rugby World Cup and cannot seem to get over it. After going into the tournament as red-hot favourites, they came up short when it really mattered.
After a red card offense for reckless play leading to head contact, and the injuring of the other player early in the game, England now want to change the rules. In doing so they may end up endangering players. England coach, Simon Middleton is claiming the red card for England's Lydia Thompson was unfair as it was 'accidental'. What Middleton appears to be calling for is lengthier yellow cards for such head contact.
This endangers players and must be summarily dismissed as a proposal. The effect of it would mean no real penalty for foul play. In the final played over the weekend, England went down to 14 players for the remainder of the match after a collision by Thompson with New Zealand's star player and all-time great, Portia Woodman, which led to the NZ player being put out of the game. If Thompson was to get 20 minutes in the sin bin, she could re-enter the game, England would be back to 15 players, but NZ loses its biggest talent. There is an obvious dividend received by the offending team. They would succeed in eliminating their biggest try-scoring threat.
In this case, Thompson made no attempt to avoid contact. She simply ran into Woodman, there was no tackle, it was simply reckless play. Watching the game I knew it was a red card offense but commented that it'll be a yellow due to the game being a World Cup final. When the referee conducted the mandatory video review and called the play a red card, I was gobsmacked. Finally, a rugby referee called it correctly and against England who think they own the game. Credit to the referee.
But play such as that by England must always result in a sending off. Player safety is paramount.
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