Owen Doyle: Inexplicable rescinding of Caulfield red card against Connacht sends the wrong message

“Josh Caulfield’s red card against Connacht has been overturned.”

That was the brief message which pinged on my phone last week. I had barely replied with “pull the other leg,” when several more similar texts arrived.

Then I made a few phone calls, not one person agreed with the judiciary, some were absolutely outraged, some were simply dismayed. Mind you, there is a social media cohort who feel the red card was in the “harsh” category, and agree with the decision.

My own feelings are of disbelief and concern – complete bewilderment really. If the reckless boot which landed on Finlay Bealham’s head, close enough to his eye, is not considered to be a red card offence, then the future vista for rugby is grim.

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It’s hard to see EPCR, the Champions Cup organisers, being happy with the decision, and it’s absolutely no surprise that they have appealed. Nevertheless, as with the initial overturning of Owen Farrell’s red card prior to the World Cup, the judgment has already done significant damage.

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How many parents are going to remain sanguine about introducing their kids into an arena which resembles a bloody battlefield. Rugby is a terrific sport for young children but this ruling inevitably creates unease.

We also deserve to hear the rationale and thinking which went into reaching the conclusion to rescind the red card. Only a press release has emerged so far, which really explains little, merely that the panel saw the Caulfield action, yes, as foul play, but that it did not merit a red card. What on earth were they looking at, what were the arguments in favour of their judgment?

Referee Pierre Brousset, who delivered the card, must really be scratching his head. The judiciary have effectively said he was wrong.

Brousset is one of three newcomers to the Six Nations refereeing team, and will be in charge of Ireland’s match against Italy. Another first-timer, Italian Andrea Piardi, will referee our match against Wales, becoming the first Italian referee ever in the tournament. Piardi has been coached in recent seasons by World Cup final referee, and Irishman, Alain Rolland.

England, once again, has four referees in the tournament, with Christophe Ridley deserving his promotion. On the other hand, South Africa will not be represented, Jaco Peyper’s troublesome Achilles tendon has forced him out of Italy v Scotland, and into retirement.

The trick for the newcomers is to change nothing in the way they have gone about their business up to now, after all, that’s what got them to this level. The worst thing they can do is try too hard to see, and whistle up, everything. Just referee the clear and obvious accurately, and everything should be fine.

Captains should remember that this is a huge step for any referee, and how they communicate with the man in the middle is even more important than usual.

Nika Amashukeli, who takes charge of England v Ireland, is now well established at this level. Just a few short years ago who would have thought that we would see a Georgian and an Italian reffing in the Six Nations, with no one from either Wales or Scotland. The latter’s Mike Adamson has been omitted, so too Australian Damon Murphy.

Frank Murphy also misses out but Ireland will be represented by Andy Brace in the Calcutta Cup match (Scotland v England) – a good one to get, but it won’t be easy.

It’s important, too, to congratulate Scotland’s Hollie Davison who becomes the first woman to be assistant referee in the Six Nations, another glass ceiling smashed.

When Ireland meet France in Marseille’s Stade Velodrome, the atmosphere, particularly given the late Friday night kick-off, will be at boiling point – both on and off the pitch. English official Karl Dickson is entrusted with this encounter, and is probably a good choice for what will be a massively intense contest.

These two teams are the undoubted favourites for the title, and it’s something of a shame that it’s first up. Let’s hope that circumstances, and Dickson, allow the match to flow, if so we could be in for a real humdinger.

Over the Christmas break, I made some wishes for this year’s Six Nations, here are just a few of them.

Firstly, that dangerous head contacts are avoided, and thus no red cards. Ireland have done extremely well in keeping their tackles legal over the past 18 months or so, and if other teams were to copy their approach, there would actually be some hope for this particular wish.

Next is that the tournament is officiated in relative silence, with referees resisting long-winded explanations, repeated several times, and the omission of first names. I’m not holding my breath.

Another wish is that scrums are formed far quicker and for referees to be less tolerant of obvious offences – a recent Champions Cup scrum was reset with these words from the referee, “you’ve just done the opposite of what I asked you”. And wouldn’t it be a dream if teams used the scrum to generate fast attack ball, rather than penalties. The outcome here is likely to be that some will choose to play positively, others won’t.

But above all, let’s wish that gratuitous foul and dangerous play, such as occurred in Connacht, is nowhere to be seen. Other than all of the above, bring it on.