England captain Owen Farrell was left bemused as teammate Freddie Steward was shown a straight red card against Ireland in the final game of the 2023 Six Nations.
Steve Borthwick's side found themselves 10-6 down as the Grand Slam decider headed towards half-time, with Dan Sheehan scoring the first try of the game shortly after the half-hour mark.
But their challenge became even greater when Steward was given his marching orders moments before the interval, having clattered into Hugo Keenan and leaving the Ireland star dazed as he fell to the turf.
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Ireland were on the attack as Steward rushed up to meet the oncoming Keenan, but the Leicester Tigers full-back pulled out of the tackle at the last minute, with his elbow making contact with the Irishman's head.
Keenan took a moment to come to his senses, with video replays of the incident drawing boos from the sellout crowd at the Aviva Stadium. The collision was analysed by referee Jaco Peyper and his TMO, with the official judging that a red card was warranted.
As Peyper explained the decision to the protesting Steward, England skipper Farrell could be heard expressing his disbelief at the decision, as he said: "Oh no. Red card? Red card? He's trying to get out of the contact".
In the ITV studio at half-time, Sir Clive Woodward sided with Farrell, as he claimed Steward should have been shown a yellow card rather than a red.
“By the letter of the law it’s a red card," he said. "But as a rugby incident, it’s a rugby incident, it’s a yellow card. So I think the referee got it wrong, it’s a yellow card.”
Fellow pundit Brian O'Driscoll disagreed, but conceded that there was "not a lot" Steward could have done to avoid the contact, adding: "He's there to protect himself. I think it's just one of those really unfortunate positions.
"It's just unbelievably unlucky that he's caught him square in the head with his elbow".
Former England star Austin Healey also chimed into the debate, taking to Twitter to write: "Bulls***!!! The ball was knocked on he was bracing for impact and turning away …Utter s***e decision.
He added: "Steward wasn’t making a hit he was trying to avoid contact."
Keenan was taken off following the incident and replaced by Jimmy O'Brien after failing his HIA.
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