Vusi Voetsek: Rugby’s biggest problem is the laws are open to interpretation

What a mess the Owen Farrell-red-card-disciplinary-hearing matter has turned into. And why? Because rugby has too many laws and is open to too much interpretation — on and off the field.

Week in and week out we see just about every decision made by a referee and a TMO being dissected and discussed, debated and interpreted, and at the end of the day, a decision is made and one group of people are happy with it and another group are seething.

Rugby is in a mess because, unlike in most other sports, there are too many laws and rules and too many people who have a say in a decision. Also, similar incidents, be they high tackles or dangerous clear-outs, are viewed and officiated differently, from one game to the next and sometimes even in the same game.

And everything hinges on a human being making a call the way he or she sees it, rather than a clean line of what is allowed and what isn’t.

Owen Farrell matter

The Farrell matter is a perfect case in point.

We’ve all seen the tackle that got him in hot water and is now the topic of much debate in the rugby world.

In the match, one or two officials deemed his “tackle” or no-arms-shoulder-hit on Wales’ Taine Basham to be worthy of a yellow card, then the same officials, or others, decided it was more serious and worthy of a red card, and then at a DC, three other learned men decided the yellow card issued to the player was the correct decision.

Then, after much criticism and outrage by many in the rugby world, the governing body decided they, too, weren’t happy with just a “yellow” for Farrell and appealed the whole DC process.

Who’s right and who’s wrong?

Farrell’s dad, Ireland coach Andy, is furious with the whole process and the way his son has been treated, while others like Eddie Jones believe “what can look like a bad tackle might just be an error of judgement”.

Common sense

Jones says “common sense” should prevail, and I agree.

I, like many, am tired of rugby’s so-open-to-debate laws and the way they are sometimes — many times — officiated.

So many incidents in a game can be dealt with so much better if all involved just use common sense. The reality is rugby is a contact sport and there are and always will be things termed “rugby incidents”. Let them be.

I’m not sure Farrell’s “tackle” was a “rugby incident” and for me it is/was a red card incident of dangerous play. But others will see it differently.

I don’t know how World Rugby, or the newly set-up DC (if there is to be one), are going to come out of this saga looking anything other than silly.

Chats with the referee

Finally, I’m not sure all you rugby fans are aware of it, but do you know that before every rugby match of any substance, the captain and coaches meet up with the referee to get an idea of how he will officiate certain parts of the game — like the breakdown, for example?

This is apparently to help the teams and players to be better in certain areas so as to not be in the referee’s “bad books” during the game.

What ridiculousness is that!

Laws are laws in rugby, but they are viewed and interpreted differently by everyone. And that’s the biggest problem. What you and I see isn’t what Jan and Jane see.

Oh well, bring on the World Cup!