Dylan Hartley v Wayne Barnes v Richard Cockerill

Despite the fact it was entirely his fault, and it’s hardly the only disciplinary blemish on his career, I can’t help feeling slightly sorry for Dylan Hartley.

Not because I believe his story about his eloquent “f****** cheat” being aimed at Tom Youngs as opposed to referee, and Stuart Broad-lookalike, Wayne Barnes.

Twickenham was stunned by Dylan Hartley’s red card – especially at my end, where we couldn’t see the colour of the card Wayne Barnes showed

But the fact a second of madness – undoubtedly borne out of a frustration at the way the first half of the Premiership final had ended, with a Stephen Myler mistake and a collapsed scrum giving Leicester the chance to extend their lead by three cheap points – has cost Hartley his Lions place and, possibly, Saints the title.

Even so, you’ve got to commend Barnes for having the guts to show Hartley a straight red card for an incident which a less authoritative referee (and, dare I say it, most football referees) could easily have got away with pretending it had never happened. It’s good to see some officials sticking up against abuse.

The RFU should be praised, too, for the speed in which they convened a hearing and handed Hartley an 11-week ban. It gave Rory Best the chance to get on the plane to Australia straight away, even if it was disappointing Warren Gatland didn’t decide to heed my advice to #callforKen (Owens).

 
Anyway, the RFU has to deal with Leicester coach Richard Cockerill who, let’s face it, is guilty of almost as much as Hartley.

Cockerill came racing down the steps from his coaching position to berate the fourth official after what he believed – probably wrongly – to be a late hit by Saints second row Courtney Lawes on Tigers captain Toby Flood. In effect, Cockerill was also questioning the competence of the officials, if not outright accusing them of cheating. Respecting the referee applies as much to players on the field as to coaches off it.

Oh, and it’s been a bit overshadowed, but the game itself wasn’t bad either.

Former referee: Bradley Davies and Stephen Ferris should both have been sent off

In a departure from the concept of “grassroots sport”, I have reproduced below an article I wrote for The Cardiffian. But despite it’s focus on the top rung of the rugby ladder, the debate thrown up about refereeing discretion and how to deal with dangerous tip tackles is applicable to those playing and officiating at every level.

Former international referee Fred Howard has joined those who argue Wales’s Bradley Davies should have been sent off for dangerous play against Ireland on Sunday.

Second row Davies was yellow-carded late on by referee Wayne Barnes after a tip-tackle on opposite number Donnacha Ryan.

He will find out tomorrow how long a suspension he will receive for the dangerous tackle during the 23-21 victory when he attends a disciplinary hearing in London.

Also in attendance will be Ireland’s Stephen Ferris, who was sin-binned late on for a lifting tackle on Ian Evans. The subsequent penalty, which was converted by Leigh Halfpenny, was enough to secure the win for Wales.

Howard, who earned the nickname “Fearless Fred” for the frequency with which he was willing to discipline players on the field, said both Davies and Ferris deserved red in the eyes of the law.

Coach Warren Gatland admitted after the game Davies was fortunate not to have seen red.

But Howard said Ferris deserved a similar punishment. “Because of the directives referees are under both technically should have been red cards,” said the man who took charge of eight Wales games in his international career, which spanned eight years between 1984 and 1992.

Among those encounters was Wales’s 1987 World Cup third-place play-off victory over Australia.

Howard believes fellow Englishman Dave Pearson, who told referee Wayne Barnes to send Davies to the sin bin, was at fault. “I think Dave Pearson was very wrong in recommending a yellow card for the first [Davies’s] offence,” he said.

Howard, who officiated a total of 20 test matches, believes referees need to be given more leeway when making decisions surrounding tip tackles and lifting an opponent off his feet.

“The second one [Ferris’s] would have been a very harsh red card,” he said.

Welsh captain Sam Warburton was sent off during last year’s World Cup for a similar tackle on France’s Vincent Clerc and was handed a three-week suspension as a result.

The debate which greeted Warburton’s dismissal has been reignited by the Dublin encounter, and Howard says a referee must be able to judge each individual circumstance on its merits.

“The referee has got to be given some discretion, as they have with punches,” he said.

“I think if referees have reached that level they should be competent in differentiating between serious foul play and the second one [Ferris’s tackle] which was more of an afterthought.”

He added: “I think most referees would want to be given that discretion. I never liked being backed into a corner.”