Despite being thrilled with England victory against Argentina in their World Cup opener, Sir Clive Woodward still had a number of gripes.
Writing in his column for the Mail Online, the 2003 World Cup winner analysed Tom Curry’s dismissal before addressing issues from the stadium in Marseille last night.
On Tom Curry’s red card:
He wrote: “My opinion on Curry’s incident is it was not a red card in any shape or form. I feel so sorry for Curry. It was just an accident. Curry’s head-on-head contact with Juan Cruz Mallia was what I call a ‘rugby incident.’
“The sport is in trouble in my opinion if those sorts of collisions are deemed worthy of a sending off. Whether or not there is intent in a player’s actions should not and does not impact a referee’s decision. I understand that.
“But I really do not know what Curry was supposed to do to not get into that position. I think it was worthy of a yellow card. Curry’s incident was neither deliberate not vindictive. Rugby is getting itself into trouble.
“These sorts of decisions will have a big impact on the sport’s future. As a coach, the last thing you want is to lose players to yellow or red cards. So what do you do? If you’re in charge of a team, you’re going to be asking yourself “How do I avoid members of my team being sent off or spending 10 minutes in the sin bin?”
“The answer, perhaps, is to tell your players not to compete at all for the ball in the air and for them to be absolutely nowhere near the opposition when their feet aren’t on the floor.”
On tournament organisers:
Woodward added: “I was hugely disappointed to see the long queues fans had to endure getting into the game in Marseille. It was unacceptable. The French authorities have had years to plan for this World Cup.
“We’ve seen other crowd issues at big sporting occasions in France in recent years. Liverpool supporters won’t forget the 2022 Champions League final and the huge queues to get in.
“There were real problems around that. You’d like to have thought French authorities would have learned lessons, but the start of the World Cup has shown that not to be the case.
“There were a number of issues at the stadiums in both Marseille and Bordeaux on Saturday which need to be resolved by tournament organisers as soon as possible. Especially with France due to host next year’s Olympics.”
COMPETITION:
“Abject” – Three England players Steve Borthwick must change, and who should replace them
Despite this triumph, there remains room for improvement in England’s starting lineup, and we believe that Borthwick should consider implementing three changes to further enhance the team’s prospects moving forward.
#1. Tom Curry
Telegraph 2/10: “The flanker was overeager in defence after an injury, red-carded after a TMO bunker review for a slightly unfortunate head-on-head collision in the third minute.”
RUCK 0/10: “Sent off after just two minutes. Some may say unlucky, but the flanker really left the officials no choice.”
Planet Rugby 1/10: “Some said he was unlucky, but ultimately he was high in contact and paid the price. Fortunately, his team-mates bailed him out. “
Rugby Pass 0/10: “Was hailed in the build-up as the potential missing link for the England defence as he arrived in France without playing a single minute of the four-game Summer Nations Series. That idea quickly went out the window, though. “
The Guardian 2/10: “Palpably fired up before the match, having not played since May, but lasted less than three minutes before a red card, via the bunker, for an overzealous tackle on Juan Cruz Mallía.”
Replacement: Jack Willis