How the 20-minute red card rule will be implemented in the rugby league

The rugby league changes a key rule within days of its inception. As announced by SANZAAR, in the tournament in which Argentina, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa will participate from 6 August, the red card for 20 minutes.

What does this allow? Simple. That an expelled player is replaced by another once those 20 minutes have elapsed, which means that the match will again face fifteen against fifteen, a variant already used in the Super Rugby 2020, 2021 and 2022 tournament.

“This is a great decision for rugby league “, SANZAAR CEO Brendan Morris said.” All four national SANZAAR unions agree and we believe that the integrity of international matches is very important and that, where possible, matches must be played 15 against 15“.

SANZAAR believes a 20-minute red card is a major deterrent for deliberate acts of foul play, also protecting the continuity 15v15.

“SANZAAR accompanies World Rugby’s important work on foul play management and player welfare and will carry out a formal research project during the period of the 2022 Rugby Championship with all comparative results to share with World Rugby at the end. season. The goal is to gather the necessary information that will allow you to accept the 20-minute red card test in all rules of the game in the future.Morris completed.

The rule officially states that if a player receives a red card, he can be replaced after 20 minutes by another player. The 20 minutes from when a player receives the red card until he can be substituted is measured as “playing time”. This follows the same time measurement that already exists for a player with a yellow card, with one clear difference: those who have been sent off cannot re-enter even if they allow their team to have 15 players.

This rule change will avoid a situation like that experienced by Los Pumas against Wales during their trip to Cardiff, when they had to play with a man behind in the 28th minute of the first half after Juan Cruz Mallía was sent off for a high and dangerous to face.

Although the match ended 20-20, which meant the first draw in history between Argentina and Wales, it represented an effort for the Argentine team who were one hour outnumbered on the pitch.

What is the 20-minute red card rule like?

• If a player receives a red card, he can be replaced after 20 minutes by another player. The 20 minutes from when a player receives the red card until he can be substituted is measured as “playing time”, as it currently is with the yellow card.

• If the same player who has been given a yellow card then returns to the pitch after serving his 10-minute ban and is subsequently cautioned again, it is equivalent to an automatic red card. After another 20 minutes, the player with the red card can be replaced.

• A player who has been tactically substituted can return to the field to replace a player with a red card. Here’s a trick: If a team has unused substitutes still on the bench, they must not use them to replace a sent off player before using players who have already been tactically substituted.

• Any player with a red card cannot return to the field.