Joe Moody and Codie Taylor on the increased safety around tackles. Video / Mark Mitchell
In an opening week defined by dangerous tackling and the officials' reaction to it, John Quill inked himself into US rugby history by becoming the first man from his nation to be sent off at a World Cup.
Flanker Quill flattened England's Owen Farrell in a high, no-arms tackle inthe 70th minute for the red card offense, provoking a melee that involved nearly every player on the field.
Shoulder to jaw, head following through, arms nowhere near. Farrell had blood on his nose before he hit the grass and was fortunate that he could jump up to attempt his own immediate retribution.
"It's a disgrace, it's cheap. That's not even a tackle, it's a cheap shot," said commentator and former England player Ugo Monye.
Gary Gold, the USA coach, readily conceded that the play was an unacceptable low on a calamitous night for his side in Kobe. Jones, though, remained delighted with England's overall performance and was not overly concerned about the state of Farrell's face afterwards.
"They're about to barbecue part of Owen's nose, the bit he left on the pitch. He is missing part of his nose which is unfortunate but he is married and has a young child so he is not looking for any young lass in Kobe tonight so he will be okay."
The tackle on the left was deemed legitimate and the tackle on the right resulted in a red. 🤷
This tournament is unlikely to throw up a more graphic justification for rugby's policy shift against 'tackles' above the shoulder, when contact with the head is made, and/or the arms are not used on the ball carrier. In one disgraceful blow, the defensiveness of diehards who think rugby is going soft was exposed as disregard for the victims.
An example. Peceli Yato, Fiji's best player, who was banjoed by Reece Hodge of Australia, missed his country's next match - a defeat to Uruguay. Hodge was not punished at the time but was subsequently banned for three weeks for a shoulder-to-jaw hit. The price of that was paid by Yato but also the whole of Fijian rugby.
England and United States players tussle during their Rugby World Cup Pool C game at Kobe Misaki Stadium in Kobe, Japan, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
England, for whom Farrell himself has 'previous' for tackling without 'wrapping,' were also in the dock in the USA game when Piers Francis ran into Will Hooley chin-high, causing Lawrence Dallaglio to say on ITV: "He got away with one there." Jonny Wilkinson meanwhile cast light on the problem of tacklers trying to 'wrap' but without coming in lower, thus causing whacks to the head.
Surely Rugby needs to see this not as a mud-throwing exercise but a process the whole sport has to go through in a time of recent fatalities in French rugby and greater awareness of the terrible costs of concussion. Players and coaches need to embed a culture in which the head is seen as a no-go area and tackle heights are lowered. If one World Cup has to be peppered with sanctions and citings then so be it.
Referee Nick Berry shows a red card to United States' John Quill. centre, during the Rugby World Cup Pool C game at Kobe Misaki Stadium, between England and the United States. Photo / AP
Already in Japan we have seen gradations of offence: grey areas and debatable incidents. But if Quill leaves any mark on this tournament it will be to prove that felling an opponent with shoulder on jaw has no place in a game where players are lining up to tell their concussion tales. On the day of Quill's dismissal, World Ruby banned Samoa's Rey Lee-Lo for three games for an offence in the Russia game (Lee-Lo was shown a yellow card at the time).
Only this month Scotland's David Denton retired at 29, almost a year after sustaining a head injury from which the symptoms persist. The referee, Nic Berry, who sent Quill off in the 78th minute when USA were 38-0 down himself stopped playing rugby for Wasps at the age of 28 in 2012-13 on the advice of doctors. Berry's presence in Kobe lent poignance to Farrell's discombobulation after taking a bang that might have removed him from England's next game against Argentina.
The United States players bow to the crowd following the Rugby World Cup Pool C game at Kobe Misaki Stadium against England in Kobe, Japan. Photo / AP
These are high-stakes incidents - for the victims. There is 'mitigation' built into the system to stop all strikes above the head being deemed illegal. So players can hardly claim the guidelines have suddenly become draconian or unclear. It's incumbent on them to change and on referees to apply punishments consistently. Only a dinosaur could want a sport of head-high tackles and low intent.
