‘Orange cards’ being considered for World Cup to allow decisions to be reviewed

The idea is to speed up the game by reducing on-field replays and also to deal with contentious calls such as Freddie Steward’s dismissal last month.

Freddie Steward was shown a controversial red card in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Wire)

World Rugby is considering adopting ‘orange cards’ for the World Cup, according to the governing body’s head of match officials.

A form of the yellow card review system is currently being trialled in Super Rugby Pacific and it could be fast-tracked into the global showpiece hosted by France this autumn.

While players can still be given a red card for instances of foul play, the referee has the option of showing a yellow that can then be upgraded to red on review by the TMO.

The idea of the initiative is to speed up the game by reducing the number of on-field replays of incidents while also dealing with contentious decisions, such as the dismissal of England full-back Freddie Steward against Ireland last month.

Steward was controversially sent off for a dangerous challenge on Hugo Keenan during the March 18 Six Nations encounter in Dublin, but the card was subsequently rescinded by a disciplinary panel.

“This is an operation being tested in Super Rugby,” World Rugby’s Joel Jutge told Midi Olympique.

“In the event of a 50-50 decision, the referee has the possibility of giving a yellow card so that the game can resume as soon as possible, while the TMO has 10 minutes of temporary expulsion to decide whether this should be turned into a permanent expulsion.

“We would give orange cards, clearly.”