Eddie Jones has warned that the forthcoming Rugby World Cup in Japan could be 'destroyed' by inconsistent refereeing, launching an unprovoked attack on World Rugby after England's comprehensive victory over Wales at Twickenham. The England head coach criticised the red card shown to New Zealand's Scott Barrett in the All Blacks' record defeat by Australia, describing the decision as 'ridiculous'.
Jones claimed that following the same letter of the law, there were two incidents in England's win against Wales that could have warranted red cards, believed to be tackles by Aled Davies and Ross Moriarty on George Ford and Piers Francis respectively. 'We need to get some consistency into that area of the game,' Jones said. 'In the World Cup if you lose a player through a red card as New Zealand did yesterday, it makes the game very difficult.'
The red card to Barrett was shown by referee Jérôme Garcès under a revised 'sanction framework' introduced by World Rugby to enhance player safety. However, Jones, who has previously been part of the governing body's law review group, insisted the decision was wrong. 'A bloke gets tackled, he goes to be second man in and his shoulder hits his head and he gets a red card. We can't have that in the game,' he said.
Jones names his final World Cup squad on Monday but avoided questions on selections, stating players would not be informed until the morning. Lewis Ludlam, Jonathan Joseph and Willi Heinz are among those facing an anxious wait, while Ben Te'o and Mike Brown, axed after an off-field altercation, are also in contention.
On the injury front, Jones confirmed Tom Curry is fine after a shoulder knock, and Sam Underhill and Henry Slade are also fit. Meanwhile, Wales coach Warren Gatland faces a headache after Gareth Anscombe limped off with a knee injury and will undergo a scan on Monday.
