Nigel Owens has not been impressed by what he has seen of the 20-minute red card, with Semi Radradra’s dismissal last weekend particularly irking the former Test referee.

The 53-year-old has been an outspoken critic of the idea but, having seen it work first hand, he revealed his reservations.

Owens is now employed by the Welsh Rugby Union and watched on as Radradra’s shoulder connected with the head of Cameron Winnett.

The Fiji star was initially yellow carded with it going for a bunker review, where it was upgraded to a red.

Although the powerhouse was forced to miss the rest of the match, the Pacific Islanders were allowed to bring on a replacement after 20 minutes to take them back up to 15.

Another Wales defeat

They would then go on to win the contest, claiming a 24-19 success at the Principality Stadium to condemn Wales to their 10th successive Test defeat.

“Where I think officials need to be really careful is with the 20-minute red card, which we saw in action at the weekend as Fiji’s Semi Radradra became the first player this autumn to be sent off under the new trial measure,” Owens wrote in his WalesOnline column.

“It was a shoulder-to-head hit from Radradra and he didn’t make any attempt to wrap, and he has now been banned for three weeks as a result. Now, I’m not saying the referee was wrong at the weekend, but the process was certainly wrong.”

The 20-minute red card is being trialled in the Autumn Nations Series but it will not be implemented globally from January 1 after World Rugby decided to defer that decision until a later date.

Under that law, only the on-field referee can issue a permanent red card and that must be for clear, obvious and intentional foul play, otherwise a team will only be down a player for 20 minutes.

That will most likely account for the majority of red cards handed out should it come into effect globally.

Owens has warned against that, however, using the Radradra sending off as an example, suggesting that officials should consider that as an immediate red.

‘Reckless and always illegal’

“My understanding of the reason they brought in the 20-minute red card is that it’s for the player who tries to do everything right but gets it wrong,” he wrote.

“Look at Tommy Reffell’s yellow card, he was doing everything legally, he just didn’t get his height down in time for the tackle and he was too upright when the contact occurred.

“Those are the sort of incidents the card has been brought in to deal with – where the laws of the game are forcing you to send someone off but their actions have been more accidental than outrightly reckless. You don’t want the team to be punished for something that is technical.

“But if you feel that a player’s actions are reckless and were always illegal, like they were leading with the shoulder and flying into an opponent’s head, then that should not be a 20-minute red card. The player should be off for the rest of the game and not replaced.

“I’m not a big fan of the 20-minute red card but I would be happy to accept it in accidental or unlucky situations – although, as I have previously said, these types of accidental actions should not be a red card in the first place.

“However, recklessness and thuggery should always result in a permanent red card, full stop. If they can make that distinction clear, then I think it could be a positive thing for rugby. But it will certainly be a challenge to do so.”