ON THE BALL: You’ve got more chance of convincing John Wayne to give up his gun than convincing a rugby ref to give up his cards, guesses Lucky Maree.
The new gun laws in the United States prohibit high-capacity magazines, ban the carrying of rifles and shotguns in public and raise the legal age to purchase guns from 18 to 21.
Over the decades – centuries even – owning a gun has become so personal, that the law now specifies that you can have a gun provided you hide it away, presumably under the front seat of your V8 truck.
And it all hinges on the sacred American Bill of Rights that reads “the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” That bill comes from 1791.
Not quite as old, the “right of referees to carry the ultimate weapon”, was introduced in 1995 and in 1999 it allowed for the player to be sent off the field.
And, sadly, it has become the weapon the referee, like a bootlegger in Kentucky, USA, will pull out when threatened.
It is no longer just an official applying the law, it is not about a regrettable disruption of the game, it is a symbol of power. Nobody can deny that in most cases, the card is whipped out with an “oh, yeah? I’ll show you!” attitude, and almost always the player walks off the field shaking his head.
Over the weekend, yellow cards came into play in at least six first tier matches – and the players and officials are moving further apart.
Werner Kok, in the Sharks match against Bordeaux Begles, produced a stupid WWE-type move, flipping a player onto his back that resulted in a yellow card.
Kok, always on the edge of being over-enthusiastic, immediately acknowledged his transgression, accepted the card, waved apologetically to the crowd. None of that made any difference to the highly offended French spectators.
Only the guillotine would have satisfied their blood lust.
So now, the crowd is involved as well. They want justice and the only justice is a card, preferably red.
Like gun laws in America, the discussion about the card system is no longer about logic or fair treatment, it has become very personal. In a Rugby World Cup year that is already turbulent, the giant elephant in the room is that the referees have reached an emotional condition where their authority lies in their weapon.
No referee will admit that they can’t go onto the field without their cards, and the players and coaches have become more resentful of the system even if applied according to the letter of the law.
It doesn’t help that World Rugby insists on simply suppressing any dissent with threats and sanctions.
Predicting that cards will have a major, unnatural effect on the World Cup in France is not a surprising thought, it is a fact that nobody denies. The 2023 World Cup will be remembered by the impact of the yellow card.
Make no mistake, it has become personal – very, very personal.
Pictured above: Werner Kok deploys a wrestling move
Image source: @aplenorugby
