Ok, I'll start this one. It's created a fair buzz in the refereeing circle that I'm part of and I'm interested in some other views.
Taking Swains headbutt on Hill as the level of impact required for for a RC, why wasn't:
- Hill RC for the deliberate hair pull in the maul which results in the head butt given that deliberate hair pulls in the women's game will be a RC, or
- Hill RC/YC or even penalised for the arguably higher impact, two handed open palm strike to Swain's face right in front of the referee?
Both can be seen here
Brisbane Times
I don't think the level of impact of the headbutt is relevant... it was intentional and there is no place in the game for it - no choice but red card.
Regarding the hair pull, I'm not convinced it is a red card offense in this instance, but there are certainly more extreme cases, though it would not be outrageous in this instance. The hairpulling seemed comparable to a lot of the handbags going on, IMHO.
However, I agree that Hill should have been sitting on the naughty chair for 10 minutes for the two handed open palm strike. Couldn't have argued if that was a red.
Both Hill and the AB's Scott Barrett (late cleanout, from the side of the ruck with direct contact to the head of the nine) missed out on being cited.
Barrett's was arguably the worse of the two.
Barrett is a clear red in my book... in at the side, off the ball, direct shoulder to head, no arms.
I felt that the Aus/Eng referee was guessing half the time and only catching the second or third incident - maybe it was the first time in front of a big, loud crowd with a high stress level and that impacted his head space. There was a ruck near the Aus line, where (I thought) white came in from the side, Gold then got their hands on the ball after a ruck had formed and then white got pinged for holding on.
I was screaming at the TV for hands in the ruck there!
I also think it should have been a yellow card when Smith made a break down the right and got tackled by Porecki about 10m from the Aus tryline, and Porecki held the ball in and totally killed all of the attacking momentum a quick recycle would have been a certain try.
Aside from all that, England were very poor in the second half, though I was happy to see more running and less kicking. We missed Curry in the second half, having a clear drop-off competing with the jackal... I think we need to always have Curry, Underhill or Earl on the pitch at all times. Also felt that Smith's ability to dance through a prem defensive line is significantly mitigated by an international-level defence.