Mapimpi injury highlights World Rugby’s major referee problem

World Rugby’s inability to get referees to take on board what was supposed to be a prime directive regarding player safety is becoming a blight on the game as shown by the injury to Makazole Mapimpi.

We heard time and again if it’s on the head it is red and a special focus has also apparently gone into avoiding head on head contact.

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The issue is that time and again referees have proven thoroughly incapable of assessing the actual degree of danger involved in incidents.

FAQ: Where is Makazole Mapimpi in the Springbok tries top 10?

LUKE PEARCE BUTCHERS MAKAZOLE MAPIMPI CALL

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Pearce didn’t start his assessment of the incident at the red card level , as mandated by World Rugby, instead, he interpreted the evidence shown to him to support his decision.

The tackler who inflicted the injury on Mapimpi didn’t show a great deal of malice in his actions, but attempted ball and and all tackles can’t continuously be used as cover for tacklers staying upright and causing unsafe collisions.

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Referees have gone away from being asked to eliminate contact to the head to try to find mitigation so that sanctions don’t impact the game’s flow.

INCONSISTENCY IS RIFE

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There have been widely varying interpretations of the rules throughout the tournament.

Clashes of heads have seen England’s Tom Curry red-carded, Chile’s Martin Sigren yellow carded and no action was taken when Scotland’s Jack Dempsey appeared to clash heads with Springbok tackler Jesse Kriel in the opening minute of South Africa’s 18-3 opening round win.

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World Rugby might be asking too much of referees in what they are being asked to assess in the heat of a match, as the rules leave far too much scope for widely varying interpretations. 

VAGUE LAWS LETTING DOWN PLAYERS AND FANS

Their laws include phrasing like: “Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others.”

That seems black and white but takes in so many potential intentional or accidental incidents that referees will generally not pull up a player for a reckless action if they feel that player had no intent to injure and or make contact with another player, like Andrew Brace’s call on the charge down on Grant Williams by Argentina’s Juan Cruz Mallia that left the Springbok floored and later earned the Pumas man a sanction from the Rugby Championships disciplinary committee.

Another snippet of law regarding dangerous tackles reads: “A player must not charge or knock down an opponent carrying the ball without attempting to grasp that player.” This requires that a tackler attempts to secure the tackled player, but the crux of this law is that it requires only the attempt to wrap (grasp). This law is used to counter both the shoulder charge and so-called grasscutter tackles, which have caused severe leg injuries. Referees also frequently miss shoulder charges and grasscutter tackles, writing them off as poor attempts to wrap rather than out-and-out foul play.

No focus on player safety will be successful while rugby requires referees have conflicting mandates and player safety should trump entertainment every day of the week.