Scott Barrett is free to play against France in the opening game of the World Cup after his red card against South Africa was not deemed worthy of a ban.
Barrett was shown a second yellow card by Matthew Carley, the Premiership referee, late in the first half of his side’s 35-7 loss to the Springboks. It was adjudged that he had recklessly charged down into Malcolm Marx, the South Africa hooker, at a ruck.
Having already been sent to the sin-bin earlier in the game, for a different breakdown offence that earned a card because of New Zealand’s persistent infringing, Barrett played no further part in the game.
An independent judicial panel ruled that Barrett’s sending-off was a sufficient punishment, but some confusion clouded the incident because of the involvement of the bunker system.
Carley referred Barrett’s second yellow card to the foul play officer because there had been a suggestion that contact had been made with the head of Marx. After undertaking his check during halftime, the foul play officer did not deem it necessary to upgrade the offence to a red card, though that was not clearly communicated at the stadium.
New Zealand will be delighted that Barrett is available for the World Cup opener against the tournament hosts. It is a mouth-watering fixture. Ian Foster would love a strong start, even if the All Blacks should be able to navigate their way to the knockout stages, should they lose to France. Italy, Namibia and Uruguay complete the Pool A line-up. Whether or not they top the group, the lopsided draw will give New Zealand a beastly quarter-final. It is likely that France and New Zealand will be pitted against two of Ireland, Scotland or the Springboks in the last eight.
Back to Barrett for a moment, while that thought stews. His recent performances, particularly a tour de force at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against Australia, have been so good that Foster will not have fretted too much about a niggle to Brodie Retallick. The age of the latter and Sam Whitelock being automatic picks in New Zealand’s engine room are gone. Barrett combines craft, steel and athleticism so impressively. Even before his yellow card against South Africa at Twickenham, he muscled a maul turnover five metres from his own line. That sort of intervention is sure to come in handy against a fired-up France next Friday night (Saturday morning NZT).
South Africa man-handled a Barrett-less All Blacks pack, dominating the set piece exchanges in a brutal manner. As Foster conceded afterwards, his charges were taught a lesson in the value of scrummaging and mauling as they sunk to an all-time record test loss.
The circumstances surrounding Barrett’s dismissal underlined two things. First, that margins are extremely fine. Barrett did not seem to be aiming for Marx but for Franco Mostert, who was attempting to disrupt the ball. The clean-out was clumsy, though. Barrett was falling off his feet and was fortunate that his first contact was with Marx’s arm. Had he clattered the neck or the head directly, he would have been looking at a ban of at least three weeks.
A second point to make concerns the bunker system. Any outcome must be communicated clearly to spectators in the stadium. In Barrett’s case, the check seems to have occurred during halftime, leading some of those present to believe that his yellow had been upgraded to a straight red and that he would be facing a ban. In the second half, for Pieter-Steph du Toit’s high tackle on Sam Cane, the process worked well. It flashed up on the big screens that there would be no upgrade. This must be the standard at the World Cup.
