Watch: Duhan van der Merwe red card

It was one of those moments that has divided social media. Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe was red carded in the second half of Worcester Warriors’ match with London Irish for his attempted hand-off of (Scotland squad mate) Kyle Rowe. Watching the clip, in attempting the hand-off at speed, he gets his forearm into Rowe’s face. Irish went on to win 43-12.

The sending off means it is now likely van der Merwe will miss Scotland’s Six Nations showdown with Italy next weekend.

Talking after the match, Worcester boss Steve Diamond said: “I am disappointed really. I thought we had grown over the last two or three weeks and I think today our discipline let us down and our work-rate let us down.

“The red card doesn’t help, the referee can only adjudge what the laws of the game are. It was probably a harsh red, but definitely a yellow. I don’t think that really was the difference in the teams. I think it was done and dusted just before and just after half-time – a try before the break and a try straight after.

“You can blame the referee however much you want, but the referee didn’t make half as many mistakes as we did.”

When clips of the incident hit social media, there was of course an array of views on it. Some applauded the continued crackdown on unnecessary contact to the head and neck, while other threw shade at Rowe’s tackle technique, or declared that the game had lost its way.

What did you make of the Duhan van der Merwe red card? We want to know your views so hit us up on our social media channels or email us at rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com and lay it out for us.

Download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.

Follow Rugby World on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.