Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett believes Franco Mostert should never have been shown a straight red card in South Africa’s win over Italy in Turin.
He’s now calling on World Rugby to urgently revisit the rules that allow an on-field referee to issue a permanent red card with no bunker review.
Mostert was sent off in the 11th minute for a dangerous tackle on Azzurri flyhalf Paolo Garbisi, a decision that again sparked debate after Lood de Jager suffered a similar fate against France a week earlier.
Speaking on the Talking Boks podcast, Mallett said the current framework places too much pressure on referees in high-intensity moments.
“I thought Schalk [Burger] got it right [in the SuperSport studio]. He said the guys get together and start looking for things that actually aren’t there. World Rugby have now said the on-field referee can turn what they consider to be ‘always illegal’ and ‘thuggery’ into a permanent red card, with no possibility of review. That needs to be looked at again.”
Mallett argued that the TMO bunker system exists precisely to deliver more composed, objective decisions than those made in the heat of the moment.
“There’s no question that someone sitting in a TMO bunker away from the stadium, with eight minutes to go through all the angles, is in a much better position to come up with an objective view of what’s just happened. When you’re playing away from home, with the crowd seeing the replays on the big screen, the referee is under huge pressure to make a big decision.”
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He said the Mostert and De Jager incidents were “almost exactly the same” in terms of technique and intent.
“They’re both about 6’6, 6’7, bent at the waist, going in for what looks like a completely legal tackle. There’s already been a tackle on the ball-carrier just before they arrive. And then they say the guilty player had a ‘braced shoulder’, which in their view is equivalent to a punch or a headbutt. They call that thuggery.”
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Mallett insisted the footage showed clear wrap intent and questioned whether there was any meaningful head contact.
“We always have to look at two things. First: was his arm going to wrap? For me, yes. You can see if you go just past the contact – the first hit is upper chest – and then the arm starts to come around. It probably goes around the shoulder or just under the chin, but that right arm is clearly coming round to wrap.
“In fact, I don’t think there was direct head contact at all, and that might come out in the disciplinary hearing.”
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