The referee who will take of Ireland v Wales next week has come in for huge criticism following a highly controversial decision during the Scarlets’ clash with Ulster on Friday night.
South African official Jaco Peyper opted to issue just a yellow card to Irish international Craig Gilroy following a sickening collision during the United Rugby Championship fixture at Belfast’s Kingspan Stadium.
In the 27th minute of the game, Gilroy put in a shoulder to the side of the head of opposite number Tom Rogers, as the Scarlets and Wales winger was passing the ball out.
Rogers’ head rocked back dramatically with the impact and he was to fail a HIA after leaving the field following treatment.
Peyper ruled it was foul play by Gilroy, but decided there was sufficient mitigation to bring the punishment down from a red to a yellow card.
His argument was that Rogers’ height was dropping as his jersey was grabbed from behind by another Ulster player.
But it’s a decision which has provoked widespread condemnation on social media.
It has been called “disgusting”, “ridiculous”, “terrible”, “crazy”, “scandalous” and “an absolute shocker” amid the plethora of comments.
Some have defended Peyper’s call on the basis that Rogers was dipping down, with his knee on the ground.
But the overwhelming verdict has been that a red card should have been issued, with many pointing to the fact that Gilroy - who went on to score a try - was high and led with his shoulder.
Former Wales Grand Slam winner Tom Shanklin, who was commentating on the game for Premier Sports, agrees it should have been a sending off.
Initially, he felt Peyper had got it right, but then after watching repeated replays he changed his view.
Speaking at half-time, the ex-centre said: “It’s a horrific collision and it looks even worse in slow motion.
“I said in commentary that I thought it was a yellow.
“I agreed with Jaco Peyper there that Tom Rogers was going down when the collision was made, he’s on his knee.
“But since then I’ve had a bit more time to look at it and go through it.
“It happens very fast in comms.
“I think that is a red card.
“Craig Gilroy doesn’t really attempt to tackle.
“The arm is down by his side, which it shouldn’t be. It’s lazy defence, he’s not looking where he’s hitting.
“I think he’s fortunate to get a yellow card.
“Looking at it now, when we’ve got a bit of time and a clear head and you are able to actually see what’s going on, I think it was a red card and I think he’s quite lucky.
“Tom Rogers has failed his HIA as well. It looked bad, didn’t it?
“That neck going back looked really bad.
“Hopefully he’s all right.”
Just to rub salt in the wounds, Gilroy scored the try that sealed the home side’s 27-15 win and earned them a bonus point.
In terms of the laws of the game, where there is foul play involving direct contact to the head, the starting point is a red card.
Mitigating factors can be considered which can see the punishment reduced to a yellow.
Those include a sudden drop in height by the ball carrier.
But mitigation can not be applied where the actions of the tackler are deemed to be highly reckless or intentional.
It now remains to be seen whether the citing commissioner feels the incident merited a red card.
Peyper was at the centre of a couple of other big moments during the game out in Belfast.
He disallowed a try by Scarlets flanker Sione Kalamafoni, ruling the Tongan was just short of the line.
Then he awarded a touchdown to Ulster prop Gareth Milasinovich, deciding there had been no double movement after his TMO raised the issue.
And ahead of Gilroy's try, there appeared to be offside from a knock on, while a pass looked to go forward in the build-up to the wing crossing. But the score stood.
Giving his verdict on his depleted team's performance, Scarlets coach Dwayne Peel said: "It was a good effort for 80 minutes.
"Defensively, I thought there was some good stuff there, but we had some line-breaks we didn't complete, while they took their chances in the end.
"There were just a few fundamental key moments that we didn't nail."
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