Rugby World Cup: New Zealander Scott Barrett, ruled out this weekend, will be able to play against the Blues
The All Blacks will be able to rely on Scott Barrett, one of their key players, for their Rugby World Cup opener against France, on Friday 8 September (9:15pm). He was dropped in the 39th minute of the last pre-season match against South Africa (35-7 defeat), and the second row will not be suspended.
On Monday, Scott Barrett appeared before an independent panel. It was ruled that the red card was already the result of two yellow cards, and did not merit a review upward, and therefore there was no reason to impose one or more match suspensions on the second row.
He received the first yellow card in the 14th minute, which put the New Zealanders in great difficulty from the beginning of the match. But this penalty was not distributed after a serious mistake. The New Zealand team, who were regularly punished, were warned that the next offending player would be provisionally disqualified. This was the case for Scott Barrett.
Reasonable risk during the second error
The second foul was more controversial: it occurred in the 39th minute when the second row made a dangerous clearance in a clash with Malcolm Marks. He attacked shoulder first into the South African hooker's neck. Since the risk of the behavior was not very high, the referee did not consider it necessary to rule him out via a direct red card. The independent committee had the same opinion. The committee wrote in its justification: “The exclusion was sufficient after he received two yellow cards, one of which was due to a technical error, after the referee warned the player’s team in question.”
Scott Barrett will be invaluable alongside Sam Whitlock, and will do a lot of good for the All Blacks in their opener against France, especially after the injury to Brody Retallick. After the blow to South Africa, New Zealanders will want to hit back.
“Proud explorer. Freelance social media expert. Problem solver. Gamer. Extreme travel aficionado.”