One-match "bans" never served, Rob Horne's three-week suspension for the same illegal tackle for which another player escaped sanction the same week, even Owen Franks' Bledisloe Cup eye gouge on Kane Douglas.
All recent howlers from the judiciaries of Super Rugby and the Rugby Championship and all – hopefully – a thing of the past under major new reforms introduced by SANZAAR on Thursday.
More Rugby Union Videos
Unseen angle in Franks eye gouge
Another unseen camera angle poses more questions as to whether All Black Owen Franks should have escaped punishment after appearing to gouge the eyes of Kane Douglas.
"SANZAAR believes Super Rugby has unique challenges across six territories and 15 time zones and the enhanced Super Rugby judicial process will deliver a more streamlined and effective system for teams and a more consistent outcome for players and fans to identify with," SANZAAR CEO Andy Marinos said.
The first reform allows the judiciary to open a case on a suspected incident of foul play when any new evidence becomes available. Previously the judiciary was not able to re-examine a case or open a new one, even when new video angles came to light, if a 12-hour window had passed post-match.
![No charge: Owen Franks appeared to gouge the eye of Kane Douglas but escaped punishment.](/web/20170217001615im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/3/3/g/7/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.guef0d.png/1487228141925.jpg)
While the changes will only apply to Super Rugby this season, it is understood they will be extended to the Rugby Championship and beyond in coming seasons if they prove a hit with players and fans. The relaxation of the 12-hour referral window means last year's controversy over Franks' alleged eye gouge on Douglas could be avoided in the future. The All Blacks prop escaped punishment for the incident even when a second video angle emerged showing Franks making clear and repeated contact with Douglas' eyes.
The second key change is that teams will no longer be able to count bye rounds or club games in the service of a suspension. Waratahs hooker Tolu Latu and Reds prop Sef Fa'agase were handed one-week bans but did not miss a single Super Rugby match because their teams had bye rounds and the rules allowed them to count club games for their suspensions.
Another reform allows judicial officers to issue warnings post-match after instances of foul play that are not deemed serious enough to meet the red card threshold. Three such warnings on a player's record will trigger an automatic judicial hearing in the same way that three on-field yellow cards in a season triggers one.
Reaching across all three changes is perhaps the most important improvement to a system that has been under heavy fire for its lack of consistency. SANZAAR has scrapped its roster-style system of judicial officers and citing commissioners and announced a permanent three-person panel.
Senior judicial officer Nigel Hampton QC, from New Zealand, will chair the committee, with Australian John Langford and South African Stefan Terblanche – both former players – sitting alongside him, while a fourth person will sit in reserve.
Marinos said the changes followed a lengthy review and consultation with all four SANZAAR member nations. The reforms also required sign off from World Rugby. It is understood the game's global governing body will be watching with interest how teams, players and fans respond to the new rules.
The changes will be received well among fans, coaches and players who have long decried wildly unpredictable judiciary outcomes. Coaches have rarely dared criticise the system for fear of being reprimanded, but NSW coach Daryl Gibson spoke out two seasons ago after Waratahs centre Horne copped a three-week ban for a lifting tackle.
Gibson drew attention to a similarly illegal tackle by Crusaders wing Robbie Fruean that went un-noticed a week earlier.
"We don't condone the lifting tackle and we don't practise it," he said. "It is clear for some time now the IRB [World Rugby] has wanted to crack down on it and we respect that and have no issue with that – as long as the law is being applied across the competition consistently. We have concerns that isn't happening."