Vodacom Bulls' Director of Rugby Jake White made it clear during a media opportunity on Wednesday that he is not a fan of the "new" twenty-minute red card rule, which will only confuse referees, players and spectators.
The law variation, allows a sent-off player to be replaced by a substitute after 20 minutes. The debate continues as it is edging closer to a global trial after World Rugby proposed the law amendment ahead of November's meeting.
"I'm not a fan. Obviously, on Saturday, I would have loved a 20-minute red card because then I could have put someone else in David Kriel's place. But if you're asking me for my opinion, I'm not a fan."
"I mean, a red card is a red card. And then now it'll become, is it really red? And should it have been red? And if it's 20 minutes, then my fear is we might just go to, they're not sure you give a red and it's 20 minutes. So what we could do is make an orange card."
"An orange card is just between a red and a yellow. And the orange is 20 minutes, and then the red is completely off. So I'm not a fan."
"I mean, a red is a red, and there's a reason it's a red. And there's a reason why you have to play with one man short. You know, that's why I've always said, that's why there was a red card."
"We make it tougher for the referees now because, as I said, is that closer to red or closer to yellow? And if it's closer to red, then it's 20 minutes. And if it's closer to yellow, then it's 10 minutes. And I just think it will confuse people even more now."
Jake White also confirmed his appreciation of the process that was followed by the URC judiciary in the David Kriel red card incident.
"What coaches want is an opportunity for the player to sometimes state their case. I've got to compliment the judiciary and the way it was done. They allowed the player to talk about what happened in the spirit of the moment in that situation. It was handled incredibly professionally."
"When you do have a legitimate case and you genuinely feel like you would like to present it to a judiciary, and it shouldn't be a feeling of, we're poking the bay and we're going to get even more penalised."
"I'm very happy that it was handled the way it was."
"What is important to understand is that players don’t want to have a red card next to their name in their professional careers. To just accept it and get a more lenient sentence is sometimes the worst thing you can do because the red card stays on your profile forever."
"Obviously I'm very happy as a coach that when you do present a legitimate case, it's not an indictment or attack on any of the officials. If there's human error it can be rescinded."