Eddie Jones came out with some outlandish comments in regards to the cards shown to the All Blacks in yesterday's loss to Ireland.
Given the complex laws which must be enforced when a prop gets carded, the commentators, fans, and even the referees became confused as to how many players should have been on the pitch when the All Blacks had a man in the sin bin and a man sent off.
In response to this, the always controversial Jones had some strange takes on the current state of rugby and its laws.
“I think the game’s gone out of control. We saw in the New Zealand-Ireland Test, at one stage the commentators couldn’t keep count how many players were on the field. Seriously. They had three backs packing the scrum.
“We’ve gone the full hog, where everything is a yellow card, everything’s a red card and there has to be some kind of common sense coming back into the game."
9 July 2022; Referee Jaco Peyper shows a red card to Angus Ta'avao of the All Blacks, not pictured, during the Steinlager Series match between New Zealand and Ireland at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Saying that 'everything' is a card is obviously a massive stretch to say the least, and the All Blacks would have had a second red had it not been for some incompetent refereeing.
Jones' comments also beg the question; what is he suggesting should be done about it? Is he saying that there should be a quota on the amount of cards handed out, after which it is a free for all?
In reality, the All Blacks forced the hands Jaco Peyper and his assistants, after extreme Irish pressure and utter recklessness from their own players.
The first yellow card should have been red, the next yellow was given after Ofa Tu'ungafasi prevented a certain try, and the red given to Angus Ta'avao was because of head on head contact which could have done serious damage to Garry Ringrose and himself.
Its just the nature of the sport.
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