Six Nations rule tipped to ruin rugby as ex-Wales star slams ‘b******t’ new law

The recently introduced 20-minute reddish paper regularisation successful the Six Nations has travel nether scrutiny from an ex-Wales prima wrong the discourse of subordinate information successful rugby

This year's Six Nations Championship has seen the implementation of a caller rule wherever referees tin manus retired 20-minute reddish cards to players.

Teams tin present a caller subordinate to regenerate their sent-off team-mate aft the4 20 minutes person passed. The archetypal 20-minute reddish paper successful the past of Six Nations was handed to France’s Romain Ntamack successful their 43-0 triumph implicit Wales.

The French fly-half was fixed his marching orders for a precocious tackle connected Wales’ Ben Thomas successful the second stages of their triumph astatine the Stade de France connected Friday night.

While this regularisation has been introduced to punish players alternatively of punishing full teams, galore are not pleased with its introduction, peculiarly with however it tin interaction subordinate safety. This includes erstwhile Wales planetary Alix Popham who minced nary words erstwhile commenting connected the rule.

“What they [rugby bosses] are saying is b******t”

Popham, who earned 33 caps for Wales from 2003 to 2008, did not clasp backmost successful criticising the caller 20-minute reddish paper regularisation and however the medication was much acrophobic with making rugby a spectacle alternatively than prioritising subordinate safety.

“What they [rugby bosses] are saying is b******t. It’s fume and mirrors. I’m sick to decease of them talking astir subordinate information erstwhile it is full and utter rubbish. All they attraction astir is the product,” said the 45-year-old connected the People’s Channel.

“They’ve brought successful the 20 infinitesimal reddish card. That shows, yet again, that the merchandise is the fig 1 priority, not the player’s health. If it’s not a afloat reddish paper and you’ve got different subordinate backmost connected aft 20 minutes, past the punishment for that reddish carded subordinate conscionable isn’t that bad. Players volition conscionable proceed doing it.

Popham has had his just stock of aesculapian issues arsenic a effect of his days arsenic a rugby player. In 2020, the erstwhile Welsh prima was diagnosed with dementia, with doctors suggesting helium had suffered 100,000 sub-concussions during his career.

Irish and French reason 20-minute reddish paper rule

Popham is not unsocial successful his absorption to the caller 20-minute reddish paper regularisation with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and French Rugby Federation (FFR) besides voicing their disapproval of this summation to the Six Nations.

Ahead of the opening time of this season’s Six Nations, the IRFU emphasised that subordinate payment indispensable stay the apical priority, portion the FFR powerfully opposed the instauration of 20-minute reddish cards, calling it an "unacceptable measurement backwards."

Six Nations Chief of Rugby Julie Patterson responded to the disapproval and said: "Everyone is moving unneurotic to guarantee we are exploring caller and innovative ways to marque the crippled arsenic harmless arsenic possible, alongside ambitions to heighten the spectacle for fans."