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‘Wasn’t a red’: Ian Foster explains the ‘facts’ of Scott Barrett’s send off
By Finn Morton
Lock Scott Barrett may have been sent off against the Springboks on Friday night, but coach Ian Foster has explained how “it wasn’t a red” ahead of any potential judiciary decisions.
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With a sense of uncertainty surrounding Barrett going into next month’s Rugby World Cup opener against France, coach Foster has attempted to clarify the situation.
Playing against the Springboks at Twickenham, Barrett ultimately paid the price for the All Blacks’ tough start. New Zealand gave away a staggering number of penalties, and eventually, referee Matthew Carley had enough.
Barrett was sent to the sideline for 10 minutes after an infringement, and the second rower was joined by captain Sam Cane shortly after. The All Blacks’ poor discipline wasn’t helping their cause.
The world champion Springboks took a 14-nil lead, and with the half-time break rapidly approaching, they appeared to be sailing through smooth waters.
But, from an All Blacks perspective, the worst was yet to come.
Referee Carley and the TMO reviewed an act of foul play which involved Barrett, and agreed that the incident warranted at least another yellow.
Barrett was sent to the sin bin for a second time, which also went under review for a straight red card. But two yellows made a red anyway, so Barrett’s night was over.
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“The facts are he got a yellow card, the first yellow card was not for foul play. The second yellow card was a yellow card, so it wasn’t a red card,” coach Foster explained on Saturday.
“The judiciary, fortunately, don’t judge people on the reaction of people on the opposition, they judge it on the facts.”
Scott Barrett etched his name into All Blacks history on Friday, and not for the right reasons, after becoming the first player ever to receive two red cards at Test level.
Barrett was sent off four years ago against Australia in Perth – mirroring this in the sense that this incident was also in the leadup to rugby’s showpiece event.
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“They always feel gutted because they want to give their best and Scott’s at the top of the tree when it comes to that,” Foster added.
“I think he’s fine. We just go back into process mode now, try and take the emotion out of it, because there’s a lot happening in that first half.
“There’s a lot of emotion in the shed afterwards but we’ve just got to calm down and say, ‘We’ll, that’s World Cups.’ So really, if you’re looking for a dress rehearsal, that’s perfect.”
Based on many precedents, Barret is lucky for no further sanctioning. He tucked his arm in and braced his shoulder (showing clear intent) - this approach has been deemed illegal - a cheap shot and a yellow card offense. Then he strikes Marx on the neck area and slips upwards. Contact with neck makes it red. The contact point was nowhere close to the ball.
The criticism that Marx received for so-called milking the card is very unfair. Players appeal to refs ALL THE TIME for knock ons, penalties and etc. Marx (probably one of the toughest in the sport and clearly feeling the impact of the cheap shot) while holding his head momentarily, merely appealed to his captain (not the ref) to query Barret's clean-out, which he is entirely entitled to do.
The only way I can get my head around this only being a double-yellow is if there's consistency with this interpretation throughout the RWC and beyond. (but we all know how this goes... )
It’s bizarre that the refs and TMO are somehow in the wrong for sending off players for foul play. Barret cost his team the game. Finished and klaar.
I reckon there’s another record loss coming. 8 September.
I think Barrett has a case to answer, these are the type of things we want out of the game. A 2 match ban would not be out of order, but being NZ ref will probably get told off for the Yellow! 😇
He got a "team" yellow, and that's bad luck. Second one was dirty, with intend, but no head contact. Overall, as a Saffer, I hope he gets off with a warning. We want to see 15 vs 15, but a player on yellow should also be more careful. But, I would hate to see a Barret, Etzebeth, etc play the game with no passion. Good luck Scott.
Right on the money Ian Foster. That loss might just be better than if we had beaten them, in the long run. AND you know what they say about a poor dress rehearsal. I just hope the injury to Lomax isn't too bad.
True that Fozzy. Just can't take high penalty count in to the knock outs. Still think Sam W should be co-captain. We will be ready for RSA now. No worries.
Semantics. The article shows a photo of the referee holding up a red card.