EDDIE JONES HIT out at World Rugby over a “ridiculous” red card shown to New Zealand’s Scott Barrett and allayed injury concerns over Tom Curry after England’s Rugby World Cup warm-up win over Wales.
England ended Grand Slam winners Wales’ run of 14 consecutive victories with a 33-19 triumph at Twickenham yesterday.
Tries from Billy Vunipola, Joe Cokanasiga and Luke Cowan-Dickie, and a perfect kicking display from stand-in captain George Ford, prevented a strong Wales side from replacing New Zealand at the top of the rankings.
It was events in Perth a day earlier that Jones was more keen to discuss, taking aim at the governing body for Jerome Garces’ dismissal of Barrett. The All Black was ordered off for a no-arms tackle on Michael Hooper in Australia’s Bledisloe Cup victory over the world champions.
“We saw a red card yesterday which affected the game, and potentially I think we need to get some consistency in that area of the game.” said the England head coach. “In the World Cup, if you lose a player to a red card — as New Zealand did yesterday — it makes the game very difficult.
“We saw two instances today when that could have happened, and I urge World Rugby – though I don’t think they do anything at great pace – to get some consistency in that area. Otherwise, we are going to have games that are being destroyed by an inconsistent official making a decision on a law that is not clear.”