Tigers v Gloucester (A) - Premiership - Saturday 25th November 2023 - KO: 14:30

[Pellsey]

It’s official the game has gone soft. Thankfully we don’t have players rolling around on the floor yet.

Apart from Nic White?

He should have been banned for that piece of play acting

That is certainly something we agree on!!

[Pellsey]

I agree that the game has gone soft but under the current laws they were the correct decisions.

Accidental isn’t really an excuse imo. Barton didn’t mean to clash heads with Pollard, it was an accident but he drew blood and as things stand it was a yellow.

The rules are the problem then, for me! As you said, according to the rules, they are both correct, but this is just crazy IMO.

I also think that the Barton card was harsh, as it was accidental, thereby just a rugby incident.

I obviously do not want anybody to get hurt, but it happens! I would sooner have a blood-filled nose (apparently blood with a y on the end is a naughty word) than being smashed legally by Alex Tuilagi at full pace!

[Rugbygramps]

The issue I believe is that for us of a certain age the game has gone soft and incidents like this could be dealt with without having to resort to cards.
Imo this is tied in with the push to make the game safer to reduce head injuries and by logical extension neurological disorders which have been brought to a head by the current class action suit.

Pellsey if you who I believe you are you are one of the few who played rugby and football at a very high level. Certainly in soccer some of the challenges that you had to endure which went unpunished, must make you smile compared to the reds that are given out these days

[Tiglon]

Both cards a bit soft, I think after the Chessum yellow they kind of had to dish out the one for Barton.

Chessum is just trying to bind onto the maul, it's harsh for me. The law on this is about physical abuse, so for me that implies that the contact to the eye or eye area should qualify as physical abuse for an offence to be committed. The laws don't seem to offer a definition of physical abuse, but generally it requires intent. That said, you go near the eye area, you're risking sanction - it's been that way for many years.

Barton was passive and of course had no intention to make head contact. Unfortunate, but he got himself into a poor tackling position. I'm not sure those sort of passive head on heads really need to be yellows, but it's not unusual these days.

Both could have been penalties only and I doubt anyone complains.

[ourla]

Hardly the most contentious of decisions though.

I don't recall anyone getting carded for the Chessum thing. So either it doesn't happen or it doesn't get penalised. It's the former for me.

[mightymouse]

Martin Corry got carded for grabbing someone’s face once if I remember correctly and took a ban I think.. there was no gouging but they said he touched the “eye area” ! I think if you touch anyone’s face with your hand in a rugby game you’re always opening yourself up to very close scrutiny!

[mightymouse]

Actually.. having looked it up.. he was cited after the match against Ospreys not carded at the time .. I think it was one of those reckless rather than deliberate actions and he got banned .. a warning to all to stay away from the face

[Hot_Charlie]

Whilst I endorse the need to protect the players thought the Chessum yellow card was a joke. No danger whatsoever to the Gloucester player and don’t know where this will all end.

If the officials are going to be consistent we now should expect yellow cards for it every week.

Officials are not consistant though!

It was a pure accident with absolutely no malace, danger, nor force. The moment Chessum realised where his had was, he moved it. Nothing to see, not even a penalty. Anything else is just rediculous, IMHO.

Quite, and I agree.

[CrumblingTerrace]

It’s official the game has gone soft. Thankfully we don’t have players rolling around on the floor yet.

Sadly, I think we already do.

It's become common for a player being blocked in a kick-chase to throw both arms in the air and flop to the ground, to get the referee's attention.

[jgriffin]

Actually.. having looked it up.. he was cited after the match against Ospreys not carded at the time .. I think it was one of those reckless rather than deliberate actions and he got banned .. a warning to all to stay away from the face

I was there. He rubbed the hooker's (Hibbard) face with dirt, it looked to me very deliberate. Hibbard was being deliberately provocative, as Hibbard always was.

[Wayne Richardson Fan Club]

Actually.. having looked it up.. he was cited after the match against Ospreys not carded at the time .. I think it was one of those reckless rather than deliberate actions and he got banned .. a warning to all to stay away from the face

I was there. He rubbed the hooker's (Hibbard) face with dirt, it looked to me very deliberate. Hibbard was being deliberately provocative, as Hibbard always was.

Isn't that the one that they accused Jullian of? Was it the 16 player game as well? Think the anti Tigers Alan Lewis was in charge of.

[mol2]

If you grab the face it'll be a penalty in the same way you can't grab a player by the head!

He is lucky he made no eye contact but as he didn't it should just have been a penalty and nothing more.

Barton was stationery, knees bent and leaning back. What was he expected to do?
For me a fair tackle with an unfortunate clash of heads. Common sense says fair but unfortunate but the law says red reduced to yellow for mitigation.

[Old Hob]

Just an aside; I hadn't realised that Christophe Ridley had been a scrum half in our academy as revealed in commentary last Saturday.

[johnthegriff]

My recollection of the Martin Corry citing was that Ospreys claimed Julian White was the guilty one, they then realised that Whitey was nowhere near the incident and as he didn't have arms like Mr Tickle he must be innocent so the Welsh team decided it must have been Corry then they look so similar.

[Darc Tiger]

Quite amusing skimming the thread and seeing all the gloom. We don't look like title contenders yet, but we are making steady improvements, and the squad is strengthening. Bit of a scruffy start, but I always felt confident we'd win that game, and we ground them down.

Odd comments about the front row, considering it's been arguably our most consistent positive so far. Just a bit of an off day, I think.

I think we should persist with the backline, because I think it will come eventually. Contained a dangerous Gloucester backline, but still just a little offbeat with the ball. Shillcock/Kata is a very versatile bench combo.