Steve Borthwick raises issues about World Rugby’s silence relating to inconsistency in pink card selections following Tom Curry’s sending off

The England boss kept away from straight criticizing the foremost refereeing calls on the World Cup, which lacked consistency and readability. Nevertheless, he couldn’t resist giving a scathing evaluation of the officiating to this point. Tom Curry obtained a pink card for a head-to-head collision with Juan Cruz Mallia in England’s win over Argentina, whereas Martin Sigren of Chile was solely given a yellow card for the same incident. Jesse Kriel of South Africa additionally went unpunished for colliding with Scotland’s Jack Dempsey, as did Romain Taofifenua for a no-arms head hit in France’s victory over Uruguay.

When requested about his ideas on the refereeing consistency or inconsistency on the World Cup, Borthwick responded by questioning whether or not there was any in any respect. He identified the rising criticism of the perceived lack of consistency and transparency within the decision-making course of, noting that it was not his position to touch upon it however moderately World Rugby’s accountability. He additionally highlighted the discrepancy in World Rugby’s response to Owen Farrell’s scenario in comparison with the latest lack of feedback from them. Borthwick said that he would defer to World Rugby on the matter.

Borthwick distanced himself from the query of whether or not he needed World Rugby to supply higher explanations for his or her selections, emphasizing that it was not his concern however moderately World Rugby’s. Whereas Borthwick’s feedback will not be well-received by World Rugby, they’re unlikely to face any repercussions from the governing physique. England will face Japan of their subsequent Pool D match, and Borthwick appeared optimistic following the group announcement, his temper elevated after the convincing win over Argentina.