Steve Hansen was asked this week if he would consider putting the series trophy on the line for the All Blacks’ dead rubber against France on Saturday. The answer was unequivocal – “We’ve got it, so we’ll keep it” – while pointing out the decision is not his to make, but the very fact the question is being asked demonstrates the contentiousness of the series.
On paper, New Zealand have won it with room to spare, scoring 52 points in the first Test before prevailing 26-13 in the second to take an unassailable 2-0 lead with the third to come in Dunedin, but the scorelines do not begin to tell the story.
The first Test was 11-11 when France’s Paul Gabrillagues was shown an extremely harsh yellow card early in the second half and, to compound matters, the referee Luke Pearce awarded it without consulting the TMO. Soon afterwards, the France wing Rémy Grosso suffered a double skull fracture following practically simultaneous high tackles from Sam Cane and Ofa Tu’ungafasi – both All Blacks stayed on the pitch.
All Blacks cut loose against France after yellow card opens floodgates
In the second Test, with France 3-0 ahead and 12 minutes on the clock, Benjamin Fall was sent off for tackling the airborne Beauden Barrett, who landed on his head and had to be removed from the game. The red card has since been rescinded. All the while France’s sense of injustice is palpable.
Both incidents have called into question World Rugby’s laws, the discrepancies between the referee’s interpretation and that of judicial panels, and even led to accusations of the All Blacks receiving preferential treatment. Indeed, the France prop Uini Atonio, born in Timaru and schooled in Auckland, suggested on Tuesday that to defeat the All Blacks “you have to beat them 15 against 16”.
Both incidents have to be taken in isolation but the unsatisfactory nature of how the first was dealt with aggravated the second. It took until three days after the first Test for World Rugby to release a statement to say Tu’ungafasi had been given a citing commissioner’s warning – the equivalent of a yellow card – highlighting mitigating factors including Grosso’s low body position.
In the interim, World Rugby missed the opportunity to issue a proactive statement, instead referring enquiries to New Zealand Rugby (NZR), because, for reasons unclear, it is the host nation that oversees disciplinary matters. After Fall’s red card, meanwhile, it took less than three hours for NZR to announce Fall’s disciplinary hearing.
At the hearing, the red card was rescinded because of mitigating factors – namely that Fall was nudged off balance by New Zealand’s Anton Lienert-Brown – and World Rugby issued a statement of clarification on Thursday, reaffirming the guidelines for yellow and red cards for challenges in the air. The Fall incident, however, would still appear to fall somewhere in between.
All the while World Rugby has done its best to absolve the referee, Angus Gardner, of blame, pointing out that, to the letter of the law, his decision to send Fall off was correct because the camera angles available to the judiciary panel which showed the mitigating factors (Lienert‑Brown’s nudge on Fall) were not available during the match. At the time Gardner could be heard stating he had “no option” but to send Fall off and it is hard not to sympathise with the Australian referee, not least because of World Rugby’s directives to clamp down on incidents that result in head injuries, not to mention the debate it has provoked.
Amid the grey areas, however, one thing can be said with certainty. There are few less enviable tasks this weekend than that which awaits Saturday’s referee, John Lacey of Ireland, trophy on the line or not.