James Lawton of The Independent bemoans the split-second decision which killed one of the most inspiring stories of this or any other sporting tournament.
"The card referee Alain Rolland showed Sam Warburton, one of the great, if not the greatest man of this World Cup of rugby suddenly made hollow, was coloured red - but not so densely that you couldn't see the outline of the joker.
"A joker who didn't give much more than a split second to weigh the meaning of what he saw, a joker who made the mistake of forgetting – or maybe ignoring – the fact that his arbitrary decision not only cut dead one of the most inspiring stories of this or most any other major sports tournament of recent memory but also booted into touch any sense of natural justice
"Warburton, the 23-year-old Welsh captain, had displayed stunningly mature leadership right up to the moment he tackled Vincent Clerc in the 19th minute of yesterday's semi-final ferociously enough to lift him up into the air."
RSS feed
