2019 Rugby World Cup: Buck Shelford - Time for World Rugby to wake up or risk losing fans to other sports

All Blacks winger Rieko Ioane (left) and Kiwi UFC star Israel Adesanya. Photos / Getty Images, Photosport

COMMENT:

Whether you're a fan or not - you have to admit things got pretty exciting towards the end of the clash on Sunday.

I know I was certainly on the edge of my seat - especially when Israel Adesanya landed that left hook sending Robert Whittaker to the canvas to claim the UFC's middleweight world championship title.

And then there was the rugby.

A lot has been said and written over the past week on the number of yellow and red cards dished out so far this World Cup – and I share the frustration.

Not only has the trigger-happy officiating confused players, coaches, and referees alike – it's threatening to ruin the tournament as a spectacle.

And that's the last thing the game can afford as it continues to struggle for relevance on the global sports stage.

I'm no UFC fan, but I found myself watching the Adesanya fight with Blues coach and former All Black Leon MacDonald moments before the All Blacks-Namibia match kicked off and I found it far more entertaining than the first 30 minutes of the Tokyo clash.

The All Blacks were sluggish, with the quick turnaround from the Canada match, a dozen changes to the starting lineup resulting in several untried combinations, and good old-fashioned underestimation caught us off guard in that first stanza.

All Blacks prop Nepo Laulala was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle at the weekend. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Namibia were always going to play out of their skins against us, most teams do, and they were fantastic in that first half – staying within striking distance of the All Blacks for 36 minutes.

Being the defending champions, the number one side in the world, and the form team so far at the tournament the All Blacks will have a massive target on their backs – and the way they responded after the halftime break, fills me with confidence.

Steve Hansen would have let them have it in their halftime talk and the players deserved whatever they were getting and they came out firing in the second 40.

There were still plenty of positives - it will take something very special to beat TJ Perenara's brilliant effort for try of the tournament, and seeing Brodie Retallick get through 30 minutes unscathed was a massive boost ahead of the playoffs.

It will take something quite special for TJ Perenara's try against Namibia to be eclipsed at this World Cup. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Retallick didn't look like someone who has spent months on the sideline and tested both shoulders with big hits early on. Hopefully, we get to see a bit more from him against the Italians on Saturday.

It's hard to stay on top of your game all the time but the first half would have been a timely reminder of the unpredictability of this game and how quickly things can go wrong.

A lot more predictable was the ridiculous yellow cards Nepo Laulala and Ofa Tuungafasi were shown for hits on Namibian players who were on their way to the ground when contact was made.

I played in an era where we got away with a lot more but these days it's all about player safety. I respect that but I can't help but feel that we've gone overboard in our efforts to keep the game "safer".

Hansen said post-match how hard it was for players to stay out of trouble and I can only hope that, as we get into the crucial matches ahead of the quarterfinals, we start seeing a little more clarity from those enforcing the rules and a lot more common sense.

The physicality is what makes rugby the game we all love.

Take that away, and you risk losing even more fans to the Adesanyas of the world.