NEW Zealand have been far and away the best side against Ireland tonight at Headingley Stadium in Leeds.
From the magic of halfback Jahrome Hughes to the power of James Fisher-Harris, the Kiwis were perhaps always likely to get one over on Ireland.
But, there was a moment of contention late in the first-half when Ireland’s Dan Norman took up a run out of defence only to be hit around the head by a Jared Waerea-Hargreaves swinging arm.
During the 2022 Super League and NRL seasons, referees have been keen to clamp down on foul play in a bid to limit head injuries, but Waerea-Hargreaves was only given a yellow card by official Robert Hicks despite calls by pundit Paul Cooke for the forward to see red.
And Cooke wasn’t alone in those calls with fans calling for a red.
In that half, New Zealand had a clear red called as a yellow, didn't give away a penalty try because of a phantom covering defender, were apologised to for getting a red card, and tried to play with 15 players after a red card.
Unbelievable
— Michael McCarthy (@McCarthyMick) July 9, 2022
Red card all day long #RLWC2021 #NewZealand
— Nick Hayward (@n1ckhay) October 28, 2022
https://twitter.com/tomasbrolin/status/1586076398329937920?s=20&t=o7fvcd-7dn0kAu9C7XTnSw
Great effort from Ireland in first 40. Getting nothing from hicks and absolutely should have been a red card before half time. Still all to play for 2nd half but need to score first
— SSBLucario (@Johnbt_saiyan) October 28, 2022
