A few bans have been issued during the pool stages of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. In a World Cup which has showcased some incredible talent from not just the top teams, but also many of the lower ranked teams, there is no place for dangerous behaviour. In the three incidents discussed below, the officials failed to identify any foul play at the time.
Alesana Tuilagi
The first ban I’m going to talk about is the Samoan player Alesana Tuilagi’s five week ban. Cited for foul play during the Japan Samoa match, contact was made between Tuilagi’s knee and Japanese Harumichi Tatekawa’s face. Many viewers (myself included) believe that the tackle was low. It appears to me that Tuilagi was making an attempt to step to the side and therefore raised his knee for this reason. These two factors resulted in Tatekawa being knocked down and receiving treatment on the pitch. Personally, I see nothing wrong with the replay. I don’t believe that there is any foul play and the whole incident was accidental. A five match ban for this compared to some of the other incidents of the world cup so far is quite frankly OUTRAGEOUS!
Ross Ford and Jonny Gray
The Scottish players Ross Ford and Rory Gray have received a three week ban each for a joint illegal tackle in which they lift Jack Lam, tipping him into the ground head first. Although the tackle appears to be dangerous, there seems to be a lack of communication between the Scottish players leading to the incident. The ban in this case seems justified, although compared to other bans (see below) this does seem harsh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxeoYWaCo6E
Which brings me on to:
Sean O’Brien
Possibly the most controversial incident we may see in the 2015 RWC, Irish player Sean O’Brien receives only a one week ban, being cited for punching the Frenchman Pascal Pape whilst on the pitch. There is much outrage amongst rugby fans who believe that the ban is excessively lenient. I am an Ireland but I believe that this ban is far too generous. From my perspective, it looks as though O’Brien punches Pape on purpose. How the officials on the TMO didn’t pick up on it at the time I will never know. The incident seems to be completely unprovoked and unwarranted. There is no place for this behaviour on the rugby pitch and it’s my opinion that he should have a ban for the full duration of the tournament.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffU-ANaVads
Even with the TMO, these incidents were missed during the matches. Bans were only issued once the footage was reviewed in hindsight. Are the officials to blame for these incidents slipping through the radar or does this highlight the need for more thorough review of footage during matches.
my ignorant opinion 
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