2019 Rugby World Cup: Suspensions 'double whammy' will have biggest impact on tournament, says All Blacks coach Ian Foster

All Blacks coach Ian Foster has warned of the potential "double whammy" of a long World Cup ban for players found guilty of making high tackles, a penalty which comes on top of a possible card and which may be just as damaging to a team's hopes of progressing in Japan.

The big initial talking point at this tournament has been the initial inconsistency of the officials ruling on illegal high shots, for which they were criticised by their own organisation, and then the regular offending by players from various nations.

Four players – Australia's Reece Hodge, Manu Samoa's Rey Lee-Lo and Motu Matu'u and the United States' John Quill – have been found guilty of high tackles and all have been banned for three weeks. The entry point for sanctions is six weeks, with mitigating circumstances and good behavior all potential discount factors.

Only Quill, who hit England's Owen Farrell high with a shoulder, was shown a red card at the time.

Another, England's Piers Francis, has been cited for a hit in the opening seconds of England's 45-7 win over the USA in Kobe for which he wasn't penalised at the time.

A day after All Blacks prop Joe Moody confirmed he and his teammates had been made fully aware of World Rugby's guidelines for tackles and the sanctions for failing to follow them (after Hodge revealed he wasn't aware of them), Foster raised the issue of the long bans which can follow even accidental collisions.

All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster. Photo / Mark Mitchell

"It's not unexpected," Foster said. "It's what has been flagged for a while. World Rugby has put, I guess, the line in the side on how they're going to go about it. It's not just the cards, it's the double whammy of making it a six-week entry point in front of the JO [judicial officer]. That's the double whammy that gets you, so we're not only seeing more cards, we're also seeing longer suspensions.

"That's probably the thing that will have the biggest impact on the tournament. But in terms of tackle height, we understand it. I think it's really clear and for us it's a matter of driving good technique but you still want to be physical, you still want to achieve the outcome you want and I guess if something does go wrong and there's an accidental thing then there's enough rugby wisdom in the process that follows to deal with that. At the moment it's reasonably black and white."

Frenchman Romain Poite is the referee in charge of the match against Canada in Oita on Wednesday night after his countryman Jerome Garces ruled on the All Blacks' 23-13 victory over the Boks, a performance not without controversy as Garces was criticised for not showing a yellow card as the South Africans illegally killed a promising All Black move in the first half.

After working extremely hard in the humidity of Beppu in order to find the conditioning they hope will be carrying them through the knockout stages here, the All Blacks must stay within the boundaries of the law while asserting themselves physically as normal.

Foster was asked about the All Blacks' excellent record against so-called lesser teams and he responded by saying: "I do remember four years ago being criticised profusely for the poor way we were playing in the pool play so that's a bit of a surprise.

"I don't know what other teams do but for us we do utterly respect the teams that we play.

"It's a goal of ours to be as ruthless as we can in that area."

Love your rugby? Subscribe now to NZ Herald Premium for unlimited access to premium content, including our exclusive, first-class rugby coverage. Check out our special rugby offer here