New Zealand’s Super Rugby teams will be able to replace red-carded players and drawn matches may be decided by a golden-point tiebreaker.
The law trials will take placewhen the country’s domestic competition starts on June 13, New Zealand Rugby (NZR) said on Tuesday.
“There are no winners when a player is red carded, but paying rugby fans, players and coaches want to see a fair contest. Replacing a player after 20 minutes strikes the right balance,” NZR’s Head of Professional Rugby Chris Lendrum said.
It’s a similar setup in Ireland’s Gaelic Games, whereby the Black Card was issued to players who, individually would not play any further part in the game but could be replaced, keeping the offending team at a full capacity.
If a match is tied after regular time, the first team to score by a drop goal, penalty kick or try during a 10-minute extra time period will be awarded the win.
5 times Lewis Moody earned his ‘Mad Dog’ nickname
1. The Tuilagi scrap
The insane fight between Alesana Tuliagi and Moody broke out after a mid-air tackle by Tuilagi on Mark Cueto. The ballsy England back-rower didn’t back down from the HUGE Samoan.
As a result, Moody became the first England player to be sent off at Twickenham, and only the fourth to be dismissed in international rugby.
Moody was later suspended for nine weeks at a disciplinary hearing, while Tuilagi received six weeks for his part in the incident.