Ireland v England Grand Slam Decider 2023

Such a strange situation for both of them, especially the father. Talk about mixed emotions.

Law 9 - Foul Play:

DANGEROUS PLAY

11. Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others including

leading with the elbow or forearm, or jumping into, or over, a tackler.

12. A player must not physically or verbally abuse anyone. Physical abuse includes,

but is not limited to, biting, punching, contact with the eye or eye area, striking

with any part of the arm, shoulder, head or knee(s), stamping, trampling,

tripping or kicking.

13. A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous

tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an

opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the

line of the shoulders.

14. A player must not tackle an opponent who is not in possession of the ball.

15. Except in a scrum, ruck or maul, a player who is not in possession of the ball

must not hold, push, charge or obstruct an opponent not in possession of the

ball.

16. A player must not charge or knock down an opponent carrying the ball without

attempting to grasp that player.

17. A player must not tackle, charge, pull, push or grasp an opponent whose feet

are off the ground.

18. A player must not lift an opponent off the ground and drop or drive that player

so that their head and/or upper body make contact with the ground.

Think you may well be right, Wilkinson who is a class analyst said exactly this on the ITV UK panel post match.

Different parts of the body.

Aloof, your card analysis shows that the game, with the present rules can be played safely by the No 1 team in the world.

but intent should be more of a deciding factor.

You're asking a referee standing in the middle of a pitch, staring up at a big screen with 50,000 baying fans around him, to judge intent. It's not reasonable.

Intent will be a consideration at the disciplinary hearing and Steward will get the lowest ban possible (two weeks) as a result.

As someone who remembers the 'moral' victories mixed with the odd high point in the early eighties, the current situation Irish rugby is in would have seemed impossible back then. But, it was a strange game to watch on Saturday. Ireland was expected to win and they did. England played the only type of game they could to try and not be beaten and it was reasonably successful. Not pretty, but effective. I was glad to see it, as it shows that Ireland has adapted their game to deal with big physical sides who are bigger and heavier than they are, something that was beyond them until recently. The Red card, hmmm, as a former FB, I'd regard it as a cheap shot, that would have barely been penalised when I started playing, and could have been a yellow by the time I finished playing, but with the current rules, a red, based on the criteria. I don't think Stewart set out to take Keenans head off, but he did turn and protect himself at a cost to the other player. If he had tucked, turned and gone face-on, it could just as easily have been head to head contact, so not sure Keenan was coming out of it without a knock, no matter what happened. He was very exposed. I thought Doris could have been pulled off for a hia after he went head first into two English players, as he seemed to be worse for wear after it. The final worry is that Sheehan is still struggling as he seemed to be holding the arm again before he came off. Would be awful for him, if it keeps coming back.

From now to the world cup, the best scenario is that they all recover and nobody else is injured and they give it their best shot. It's quite likely a couple of teams get knocked out due to cards or injuries in the games, just hope it isn't Ireland.