All Blacks Captain Sam Cane addresses the media following the loss to Ireland.
A recent study into the rate at which the All Blacks receive cards in test rugby could serve to detract from criticisms that the side are under-refereed, with the New Zealand team receiving cards at a higher rate than opponents.
In All Blacks matches between June 2012 and last weekend'sloss to Ireland, the New Zealand side averaged a card every two matches, while being shown 50 per cent more yellow cards than their opponents.
The study was carried out by TheFacts.nz, a group from New Zealand who analyse statistics across a range of subjects on a voluntary basis. The team looked at the 10-year period after a myriad of cards were dished out in last weekend's loss in Dunedin.
"Where this all started for this particular fact is that my intuition was that the All Blacks seemed to get more cards than other teams, so I went looking for the data and it backed that up," TheFacts.nz founder Geoff Neal told the Herald.
The data showed the All Blacks received 60 yellow cards to just 39 shown to their opposition teams, while red cards were closely split with five to the All Blacks and four to opposition teams. After Angus Ta'avao's sending off in Dunedin last weekend, the All Blacks have now received a red card in each of the last four seasons.
Leicester Fainga'anuku receives a yellow card in the All Blacks loss to Ireland in Dunedin. Photo / Photosport
The study found former All Blacks captain Kieran Read was shown the highest number of cards with five – all yellows - while Ofa Tuungafasi, Sonny Bill Williams, Samuel Whitelock, Sam Cane and Wyatt Crockett all received three cards each during the stretch.
The All Blacks lost 16 times during the period analysed. They received a red card in four of these matches, three times the opposition got a yellow card and on three occasions the All Blacks did. Only six of these 16 tests had no cards shown to either team.
However, the study indicated the notion that red cards lose games, while yellows are not necessarily game-changers. Of the six matches in which the All Blacks had two yellow cards and the opposition did not receive one, the New Zealand side has won five and drawn the other.
"The data shows the All Blacks can handle one yellow card pretty easily, and it even suggests if they get two yellow cards, they're OK," Neal said. "The red card is a real challenge. It changes the whole mindset of a team and for the All Blacks to have lost four out of five games they've got red cards – and most are major games – I think red cards are killer."
After looking at the data, Neal came to some conclusions, including the need for World Rugby to adopt the 20-minute red card rule at test level.
"It just changes the scope of the game too much, and it's so hard to win with a red card," he said.
"Rugby has got one of the most complex rule sets ever ... I'd say I've got a better grip on the rules than most people but it's still so hard; it's still 50 shades of grey about whether something is a penalty or not a penalty."
Against Ireland, in particular, the numbers are very unflattering for the New Zealand team, having received 10 cards (nine yellow, one red) to just two for Ireland across 11 games.
The 10-year period studied included 130 games. There was a card shown in 72 of these games – which is more than half.
