World Rugby have shown a shocking lack of consistency in Jesse Kriel debacle after Tom Curry was banned for two matches for England at Rugby World Cup

On the day England’s Tom Curry was banned for two matches for his head-to-head contact with Argentina’s Juan Cruz Mallia, no action was taken against South Africa’s Jesse Kriel for a challenge that was equally dangerous to Scotland’s Jack Dempsey.

So tell me, where is the consistency here?

I asked for advice from senior figures in World Rugby yesterday and they insisted there was insufficient evidence to name the Springboks centre.

They even suggested to me that it was dangerous to judge a tackle from one camera angle.

How much do they need? If it looks high and dangerous from one angle – which it did – isn’t that enough? Where exactly is the justification for not taking action?

After review, the England star was dismissed and has since been handed a two-match ban

No action was taken against Jesse Kriel for a challenge that was just as dangerous

They claim that the citing officer would have looked at all angles in real time and in slow motion and determined that there was no clear and obvious foul play, meaning no head contact could be determined.

In my opinion, and according to columnist Ryan Wilson and Sir Ian McGeechan of Mail Sport, Kriel’s breakneck tackle on Dempsey was 100 percent a red card and exactly the kind of reckless, upright collision it should be. banned and removed from the game.

But with the 36-hour citation window closing over breakfast yesterday, that’s officially the end of the matter.

Shockingly, TMO Ben Whitehouse and the other three officials – referee Angus Gardner and his two on-field assistants – felt the incident did not merit further action.

That this happened just 57 seconds into the match, when the referees should have been at their sharpest, made it even worse.

Dempsey told the referee at the time that he had been hit in the face, while his skipper Jamie Ritchie’s request to have the incident reviewed by the referee fell on deaf ears. It’s a mockery of justice. Kriel’s tackle was just as bad as Curry’s the night before in Marseille.

For those watching at home, the Kriel-Dempsey incident was not shown live by ITV at the time.

The Kriel-Dempsey incident was not shown live by ITV at the time

They appear to be taking over the television footage from the ‘world feed’ broadcaster and have no control over the live coverage or which incidents are repeated.

Back in London, their team immediately spotted the incident and showed the footage at half-time.

Pundits John Barclay and McGeechan both said it was a clear red card. Without the TV replays, the incident might have been forgotten.

Not that it matters now that it seems to have been swept under the rug.

What lingers in the Scottish camp is the inconsistency in the way the Curry and Kriel incidents were handled. I’ve spoken to a few Scottish players privately and they can’t believe the incident has been missed.

Prop Jamie Bhatti made it public straight after the match, claiming he had never seen a more blatant red card.

He sat on the sidelines among the Scottish substitutes and had a clear view of what was happening.

South African director of rugby Rassie Erasmus stuck his oar in and insisted there was no reason for Kriel to justify himself.

That’s what you’d expect from a coach defending his player, but the court of public opinion has ruled that the center was lucky to escape without being charged.

Who knows how the match would have ended if he had been sent off?