I played and was involved in rugby before the time of the yellow card and the sin bin.
As a referee now, my impression is that we are reluctant to give out a YC as it can change the course of the game and we don't want to be putting our stamp on the game.
I've recently started looking at YCs the way penalties are applied in ice hockey. In ice hockey penalties happen frequently in the game and depending on the severity of the infringement, players are sent to the penalty box anywhere from 2-5 mins. Penalties in ice hockey are not seen as an intrusion from the referee that can lead to the game changing course, but are actually part of the excitement of hockey.
When teams are on the power play (have a 1 man advantage), the pace of the game is increased and there's a sudden flurry of offense. The only difference is if the team on a power play scores then the penalty is over and the offending player comes back into play.
Would such an approach work for rugby? Perhaps reducing the YC sinbin to 5-8 mins to encourage the team with a man up to pick up the pace of their offence?
As a referee now, my impression is that we are reluctant to give out a YC as it can change the course of the game and we don't want to be putting our stamp on the game.
I've recently started looking at YCs the way penalties are applied in ice hockey. In ice hockey penalties happen frequently in the game and depending on the severity of the infringement, players are sent to the penalty box anywhere from 2-5 mins. Penalties in ice hockey are not seen as an intrusion from the referee that can lead to the game changing course, but are actually part of the excitement of hockey.
When teams are on the power play (have a 1 man advantage), the pace of the game is increased and there's a sudden flurry of offense. The only difference is if the team on a power play scores then the penalty is over and the offending player comes back into play.
Would such an approach work for rugby? Perhaps reducing the YC sinbin to 5-8 mins to encourage the team with a man up to pick up the pace of their offence?