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Perhaps rugby league can learn a little from rugby union \u2013 after all, given two of the most brutal incidents in the history of the 13-a-side code did not result in the type of punishment meted out in the weekend\u2019s Rugby World Cup final.<\/p>\n
When Latrell Mitchell broke the cheekbone of his former teammate, the Roosters\u2019 Joey Manu, in a 2021 NRL match, the Rabbitohs fullback was sin-binned and placed on report, rather than sent off.<\/p>\n
Compare this with the final of the RWC in Paris on Sunday when All Blacks captain Sam Cane made contact with the head of a Springboks player with the point of his right shoulder. The referee issued a yellow card on the advice of the television match official, who upgraded it to red while Cane was still in the sin bin, meaning a 10-minute penalty became a send-off, the first in a final of a RWC.<\/p>\n
Cane cost the All Blacks a key player for three-quarters of a match they went on to lose by one point, whereas Mitchell returned to the field for the final 13 minutes of their game, scoring a try in Souths\u2019 54-12 victory.<\/p>\n
Cane\u2019s \u201cvictim\u201d was able to complete the match, whereas Manu had to have three metal plates inserted in his face. Still, it can be argued both perpetrators were ultimately punished equally, with Cane admitting he \u201cwould have to live forever\u201d with his role in his country\u2019s loss in the RWC decider, while Mitchell\u2019s ultimate six-match suspension meant he missed the grand final against Penrith, decided by an intercepted pass that could have landed in the arms of the Souths fullback had he been on the field.<\/p>\n
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Latrell Mitchell was suspended for six weeks for a hit on Joey Manu in 2021.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n Like all football codes, rugby union is desperate to demonstrate it is serious about the protection of the head of players but its decision to review punishments while the game progresses also has the fans in mind.<\/p>\n This year, World Rugby introduced the card-review process to spare fans the stoppages that result from interminable replays of incidents. So the RWC final proceeded after Cane\u2019s yellow card, while in the NRL there are prolonged delays as the bunker examines multiple replays to determine if the incident of foul play should result in a sin bin or a send-off.<\/p>\n Admittedly, rugby union has far more stoppages than rugby league and many of its rules can only be comprehended by a battery of Trappist monks, meaning the 15-a-side code has a greater need to find ways to create more ball-in-play time.<\/p>\n The TMO does have 10 minutes to review multiple angles to determine if there are factors that mitigate upgrading the offence to red.<\/p>\n But this may not be enough time, given a judiciary hearing and an appeal can take days to get the right answer. Furthermore, the system significantly empowers the TMO and raises accusations of inconsistency, given Springboks captain Siya Kolisi was yellow-carded for what many deem to be a similar offence to Cane\u2019s.<\/p>\n Furthermore, minutes before his sanction, Cane copped an elbow to the head from Springboks second-rower Eben Etzebeth that was unpunished, probably because the All Blacks skipper refused to go down.<\/p>\n The review period also raises integrity issues, given the public don\u2019t see the process. Rugby league didn\u2019t have a bunker in the 1970s, although the referees\u2019 room sometimes had a phone for half-time calls.<\/p>\n (One referee who liked a lung-buster had a visitor who entered the room with the half-time penalty count recorded on the inside lid of a cigarette packet, allowing the referee to even the count in the second half … if inclined to do so.)<\/p>\n Graham Annesley, the NRL\u2019s head of football, refereed in that era but refused to comment on the now clinical co-dependency of sport and gambling and its impact on match officials, or even whether the ARLC would consider adopting rugby union\u2019s card upgrade system.<\/p>\n \u201cDecisions like that are a matter for the ARLC,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are currently reviewing the whole season for possible changes.\u201d<\/p>\n The other brutal rugby league incident was Les Boyd\u2019s elbow to the head of Queensland\u2019s Darryl Brohman in a 1983 State of Origin match. Boyd escaped punishment but was later sin-binned for another offence.<\/p>\n Rugby league takes time to get its man but ultimately it does, while rugby union may not take enough time and risks punishing the wrong one.<\/p>\n
Ten minutes is also ample time for a big punter to call the bunker, pressuring the officials.<\/p>\nMost Viewed in Sport<\/h2>\n
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