Leicester interim head coach and former Ireland full-back Geordan Murphy has said that he could not understand why Tigers second-row Will Spencer was red carded for a high tackle on Wasps hooker Tommy Taylor.
Spencer was dismissed just before half-time for a high tackle on Taylor after leading with his shoulder and making contact with the hooker’s head.
🗣 "We have a responsibility to tackle low."
"He's 6 foot 7!"
🗣 "We have to protect the players. It's a red card."
"Rugby's changed! Rugby's changed!"
Will Spencer was shown a red card for a high tackle, but not everybody agrees…
We haven't heard the last of this one 👀 pic.twitter.com/ynedwRAflU
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) September 16, 2018
Leicester were trailing 22-18 at the time of Spencer’s dismissal, and would go on to lose the match 41-35 in a 76-point shootout in Coventry, but Murphy feels like the tackle warranted a yellow card and that a red was probably too harsh.
"I think the game's gone a little bit too PC."
"That for me is crazy, it's rugby!"
Geordan Murphy is not having the Will Spencer red card… 👀#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/9SaVLa4UTT
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) September 16, 2018
“It’s a really tough one isn’t it?” Murphy said in his post-match interview.
“Will is 6 ft 10 and he’s tackling a bloke who is 5 ft 10 and the guy is actually pulling out of it and falling over so his height has dropped. It’s a really tough one. At the time I thought that he might have got a yellow, I thought a red was really disappointing from my point of view.”
Murphy added that he feels that rugby has become a little bit too PC and that he might have to start picking shorter players to prevent similar situations from arising in the future.
“I’m going to try and pick some players that are under five foot,” added Murphy.
“It’s going to make it very difficult to referee that to be honest because you’re not really going to be able to tackle anyone are you? I think the game has gone a little bit too PC. That for me is crazy, it’s rugby!
“Tommy Taylor was fine, Dai Young was beside me and he seemed okay with it, there was no HIA, there was no real danger to the player, it was a really good shot and it’s killed the game really.”
In December 2016, World Rugby redefined illegal (high) tackle categories and increased sanctions to deter high tackles via a law application guideline and introduced minimum on-field sanctions for reckless and accidental contact with the head, effectively lowering the acceptable height of the tackle.
A player is deemed to have made reckless contact during a tackle or attempted tackle or during other phases of the game if in making contact, the player knew or should have known that there was a risk of making contact with the head of an opponent, but did so anyway. This sanction applies even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.
