The Springboks’ win over Ireland – driven by a dominant scrum – has led to a review of yellow-card sanctions for infringements at the set-piece.

According to The Times, Six Nations unions are looking to raise the issue within the law-making corridors of rugby.

The Aviva Stadium clash saw six cards, including yellows for Irish looseheads Andrew Porter and Paddy McCarthy after repeated scrum collapses under immense Springbok pressure.

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That has sparked renewed debate over whether players should be sent to the sin bin simply for being outpowered by opponents.

One senior figure told the newspaper: “In what other sport can you be sent off basically for not being as good or as strong as your opponent? The dominant scrum is already gaining a penalty. A yellow card should only be shown if a player tries to gain an advantage by breaking the rules.”

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Any proposal would be taken to World Rugby’s Shape of the Game conference in February, although no law change could be implemented before the 2027 World Cup.

The push is reportedly not about depowering the scrum, but rather ensuring that players are not punished for being technically or physically inferior. And former Test referee Nigel Owens agrees there is a line between being dominated and being illegal.

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Speaking on Whistle Watch, Owens said: “Front-rowers shouldn’t be yellow-carded for simply going backwards in the scrum. If a prop is doing everything legally but is still going backwards, they shouldn’t be binned.”

He referenced England versus Ireland at Twickenham a decade ago – a game he officiated – saying: “There were penalty tries and lots of scrum penalties, but I didn’t bin anybody because the Irish prop wasn’t doing anything wrong – he was just being driven back.”

However, Owens warned that weaker packs often collapse deliberately to mask dominance.

“As a defensive scrum, you may take it down before momentum shows. That’s why it takes an experienced referee to judge whether it’s illegal or just power.”

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