Good to see they’ve ruined that game too. Looking for every possible reason to send players off…..

Yes none of the incidents looked terrible.

Actually a good game for once: the skill level was right up there and punishing defence particularly from SA.

Enjoyed the England Tonga RL game too.

I'm just glad it's over, the tournament felt like it was going on forever.

Cricket WCC feels like that too…..

There was only red card? There were a couple of yellows but I thought they were all appropriate. In terms of high tackles, it’s fairly simple, don’t touch somebody around the neck head, and wrap your arms when you tackle. That’s how you are taught to tackle when you are young and there is a reason why. I don’t want to watch any rugby game where players are going off with head injuries. Plus as a father of a young lad it’s not an easy sell to the wife that he should play rugby (league or union) if when players on tv whack into somebody’s face or head area they aren’t penalised and off the pitch.

One of the yellow cards was for a deliberate knock on, which is and always has been union rules. League should bring that in, I’d love to see it. I hate seeing players knock the ball down and stopping a try and not being penalised. Rather see skilful passing and play rewarded than a defender just trying to kill the ball and knock it on.

Like league the major problem with union is the ruck. It’s an absolute mess and more dependant on the ref and their interpretation than it is on the skill of a player.

Interesting how different the scrum was last night compared to the mess of SA v England the week before.

The referee was very very good.

If league can sort out the ruck it will make a huge difference, the rules and referees have to find a way.

Head knocks.. you just can’t mitigate against the risk of head or any other injury 100% in contact sports. For me it’s all about sensible precautions and a pragmatic approach to reduce injury (of all kinds). I have a lot of sympathy for players in a fast and frenetic contact sport sometimes catching a player around the head when everything is in motion . It isn’t always intentional.

The head knock protocols or removing players from the field and then having extended return to play will make a big difference over time. Some of the penalties awarded currently are pathetic and don’t actually protect head injury.

Yes, barnes is easily the best referee about. Be nice if we had that same confident authority in our refs. I think the other factor was NZ just had better scrummagers than England.

The majority of my friends are union fans, slowly they are coming across the league, however the one factor they don’t like it the ruck and the slowing down. To an untrained fan it looks like wrestling to intentionally slow the game down. Tackle and move away is simple and I think that’s what the league ruck should look at moving towards.

On injuries, i agree it isn’t always intentional. I think it is a cultural shift from up right tackling, the talk of bending your back and being in a more controlled position is the bit I like. If you are never in a position to make a good tackle and unintentionally whack somebody in the head then I don’t think it’s enough to just say oh sorry I didn’t mean to. If you are in a position to make a good tackle and something changes and you hit high then usually it appears you will be okay.

It was never any good in the first place.

Was a lot better than the current spectacle….

On your last point, both tackling and ball carrying in the two codes is fundamentally different. First point of contact in league has generally been higher in modern times both because players carry more upright (because there’s less risk of being turned over) and defenders need to control the player and stop the offload. With that in mind I understand why our interpretation is different.

I disagree on the knock down as it’s interpreted in union, there’s many a gamble/one handed intercept that are worth watching. I think another set of six is more than enough benefit in league if I a player doesn’t get it right. Granted doesn’t work in league as the scrum is contested.

The bit I absolutely do not like in union, despite understanding it’s rooted in the current climate/player safety, is when a head on head clash leads to a card. No player I’ve ever known goes in to headbutt someone in a tackle. As others have said we can’t completely take out the risk and I’d like to see something more sensible be taken into account for that.