If you ever needed proof that rugby officiating is currently held together with cable ties, chewing gum, and a referee handbook last updated when dial-up internet was still a thing, look no further than the weekend’s glorious clown show of send-offs.
Not one but two independent disciplinary panels. These are actual adults in an actual boardroom have now declared that both Franco Mostert’s and Harry Hockings’ red cards were… wait for it… wrong.
Incorrect. Misfires. The refereeing equivalent of tripping over your own shoelaces in front of a packed stadium.
And boy, did Rassie Erasmus and Eddie Jones notice. Both coaches arrived at their press conferences breathing fire like dragons who’d been told the post-match buffet was cancelled.
The match in Turin? Oh, that was a masterpiece. Franco Mostert was shown a red card after what we were dramatically told involved “clear head contact” and was “always illegal” – quotes that aged about as gracefully as a carton of milk left in a Limpopo heatwave.
Full red card for Franco Mostert is a joke, ridiculous decision pic.twitter.com/54U8lUZuwd
— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) November 15, 2025
Fast-forward to Wednesday and the disciplinary committee, using a combination of eyesight, rationality, and apparently actual rugby knowledge, politely announced Mostert’s red should’ve only been a yellow. Translation:
“Guys… this wasn’t even close.”
To recap:
The ref and TMO had the bunker system (rugby’s expensive “phone-a-friend” lifeline designed to stop exactly this kind of hot mess) RIGHT THERE.They looked at it.
They considered it.
And they said, “Nah, let’s YOLO it.”
Result? A match-altering, tour-affecting, momentum-wrecking wrong call that the disciplinary panel erased faster than Rassie sends out a cryptic tweet.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call elite-level decision-making.
The Boks, however, are now officially trauma-bonded with the No. 5 jersey. Two weekends in a row, their lock has been marched off like an unwanted wedding crasher.
First Lood de Jager against France. Then Mostert against Italy. At this point, the Bok No. 5 shirt might as well come with a built-in GPS tracker for the tunnel.
And yet … and this is the part that should terrify Ireland, the Springboks STILL WON BOTH MATCHES.
Against France: 40+ minutes with 14 men.
Against Italy: 65+ minutes with 14 men.
Still victorious.
Still bullying packs like a runaway maul on a downhill slope.
If you’re an Irish analyst, this is your cue to start quietly sweating.
But back to the officiating chaos: rugby’s head-contact framework now has more inconsistencies than a TMO’s wi-fi connection.
Players train all year like pros; officials rule matches like they’re flipping coins in the wind.
HEAD vs. CHEST 🤦🏾♂️
If Franco Mostert's red card gets rescinded, the TMO and the on-field referees need to go for training,
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, Training.#ITAvRSA #SSrugby #Springboks pic.twitter.com/tQHVEEGWLT
— Sardieq (@SardieqWP) November 15, 2025
The cherry on top? Mostert is free to play against Ireland in Dublin where the Boks haven’t won in 13 years. That’s right: Thirteen. That’s one entire teenager of failure.
South Africans are taking it in their stride, of course. Nothing unites this country like a bad refereeing decision.
Give us chaos, and we give you memes. Give us controversy, and we give you humour. Give us dumb red cards, and we give you victories anyway.
Fingers crossed the only red on display this weekend is the colour of the Irish crowd faces, and not another referee hallucination dressed up as “player safety”.
The Bok team will be named on Thursday.
