England boss Eddie Jones blasted referee Ben O’Keefe following his performance at Twickenham on Saturday.
Although England held on to beat Wales 33-30 to capture the Triple Crown, Jones was clearly furious in his post-match press conference.
“I usually don’t comment on decisions, but I find this bizarre and ridiculous. I don’t see how you can tackle a guy now. It’s absolute rubbish.”
bA red card shown to Manu Tuilagi for a shoulder charge on George North#ITVRugby pic.twitter.com/NXkmVmqfQg
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) March 7, 2020
Jones’ mood wasn’t bettered by the fact O’Keefe didn’t take a second viewing of Liam Williams undeniably dangerous clear out on Tom Curry.
The Welshman enters the ruck from the side, flipping the England flanker well above the horizontal before striking him in the face with his forearm.
Curry being Curry, the flanker just gets up after the incident and gets on with it but the touch judge ought to have asked the TMO for a check at the very least.
Also unnoticed was this appalling tackle from Wales centre Hadleigh Parkes on Tuilagi, much to the dismay of England fans on social media.
Was that a red card for Tuilagi?
— RugbyInsideLine (@RugbyInsideLine) March 7, 2020
North definitely dipping, but contact with the head and no wrapped arm ….
Some supporters have suggested that this challenge led more with the shoulder than the hit that saw the England centre dismissed late on.
‘Why wasn’t that a red card led with shoulder more intent than Tuilagi,’ one fan wrote.
Another said: ‘With force, contact to the head, no mitigation = red. Or just ignore it..’
LIST | 5 times England vs Wales got HEATED
It often gets heated.
1. Stand Off In The Tunnel, 2015
As the teams headed out onto the pitch England captain Chris Robshaw asks the referee whether Wales will lead the way. England’s injury-hit team came from 10 points down to record a famous 21-16 victory in Cardiff and take revenge for their record 30-3 mauling two years prior.