Bulls cross paths on Friday with Irish ref that gave Kriel red card

The Vodacom Bulls may have been fuming over the past two weeks because of two separate red cards that were overturned by the Vodacom United Rugby Championship judiciaries, but in their final game of this mini-tour against Benetton on Friday night, they will come face to face with one of the referees who had a red card overturned.

When the URC released the match officials on Tuesday, a notable appointment was that of Irish referee Eoghan Cross, who was the same referee that officiated when the Bulls beat Ospreys a fortnight ago.

Cross, who mostly had a good game, infuriated the team and its supporters when a hand-off by David Kriel was first deemed okay, but after several replays at the Swansea ground, and the baying for blood by hometown fans, he reviewed the decision and gave Kriel his marching orders for the handoff.

Kriel subsequently was able to convince the disciplinary committee that the offence was not worthy of the red card standard, and the card was rescinded, allowing him to play again.

While the Bulls decided not to start him in the game against the Scarlets, because of the disruption to the side in the lead-up to the game, and the fact that Kriel was only cleared two days before their trip to Llanelli, Kriel could well be selected for this game and will come face to face with Cross once again, with the referee officiating his 22nd URC game this Friday night.

The URC Disciplinary panel, comprising of Roddy Dunlop KC (Chair, Scotland), Donal Courtney and Gordon Black (both Ireland), found that “while an act of foul play had occurred and the Player made contact with the neck area of the tackler, a combination of factors (including the Player's attempt at a hand-off to protect himself, the speed & height of the tackling player, and the low force of the contact in question) was such that the Player had established, on balance of probability, that a red card should not have been issued. The card was thus rescinded.”

'VINDICATION'

Afterwards, a clearly happy Jake White said it was “vindication” of the belief that Kriel had been hard done by and the decision by Cross was incorrect. White also praised the disciplinary committee for the bold decision to go against the referee’s call.

“It was vindication, not only of David, but of the competition as well. We spoke to (URC head of referees) Tappe Henning and he agreed. It was what coaches want with a situation like this, to be able to state your case in front of a competent judiciary, to be able to talk about the moment. The way they handled it was professional and an incredible step forward for us,” White said after the hearing.

White went on to say that normally there was a fear that by defending a red card, you would be “poking the bear” of the judiciary and could worsen the prospects of a light sanction.

“It was great to be able to present a legitimate case, when there is always a fear that by doing so you would be ‘poking the bear’ at the hearing if you argue and there is a fear you may make it worse, that the player becomes more guilty. But the way it was seen and handled was very professional.

“People forget, players don’t want a red card next to their name in their careers, and while they may accept a more lenient sentence, the record of a red card stays on their profile forever. I’d like to say I was happy with the outcome and that as a coach we could present a legitimate case.

“That is not an indictment on the officials, there is always human error, but when it is human error, and it can be rescinded, then it is a good outcome. We are happy with the way it has been dealt with this week.”

White will be hoping that any human error will have a lesser outcome for his side after two weeks where red cards were overturned - with the second one against Johan Grobbelaar in the Scarlets game, costing them victory and their unbeaten run.

The Bulls will name their squad for the Benetton clash on Thursday.

Referee appointments for round 6 of the URC

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25

Scarlets v Zebre Parma

Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA

Referee: Morne Ferreira (SARU, 13th league game)

AR 1: Ben Connor (WRU) AR 2: Matthew Leon (WRU)

TMO: Quinton Immelman (SARU)

Live on: BBC Wales, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Benetton v Vodacom Bulls

Stadio Monigo, Treviso – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA

Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU, 22nd league game)