Beirne red card ‘a disgrace’
Jeremy Paul and Justin Marshall have blasted the decision to red card Ireland lock Tadhg Beirne for his tackle on Beauden Barrett during Saturday’s Test in Chicago.
Beirne was initially shown a yellow card by French referee Pierre Brousset after clashing heads with Barrett in the opening minutes at Soldier Field.
The card was later upgraded to red by the foul play review officer, who deemed the contact to be of “high danger”.
“It was a disgrace,” former Wallabies hooker Paul said on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby AUNZ podcast.
“I felt there was mitigation because it was a forward pass, and Barrett was really, really tight on that run and caught Beirne by surprise more than anything else. I didn’t feel he could have reacted any other way – I thought he braced.
“I didn’t feel like it was a red card. I thought yes, a yellow and a penalty, but it was incredibly harsh to be a red.”
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Marshall, who was commentating on the match in Chicago, agreed.
“It’s frustrating, the inconsistency,” said the former All Blacks scrumhalf. “They talk about mitigation and trying to eliminate head contact, but mitigation plays a part – and Barrett wasn’t even affected. He didn’t have to go off for an HIA, so it was minimal head contact.”
The former All Blacks No 9 said the call “lacked feel” for the realities of the collision.
“Beirne wasn’t lowering his body height – yes, give a yellow under the laws, fine,” Marshall continued. “But when it came red, I was just like, ‘Are you f**king serious?’ I could not believe what I was hearing.
“Why are you not seeing what everyone else in the world is seeing?”