When is a red card not a red card? It sounds like a riddle or some kind of bad joke but here we are, still not quite sure exactly what constitutes the harshest punishment in rugby union.

The fact Sam Underhill only saw yellow for a forceful head-on-head collision with Lyon full-back Davit Niniashvili after 28 minutes of the EPCR Challenge Cup final left the majority of onlookers scratching their own heads. The vocal Bath contingent at Principality Stadium aside, most decreed Underhill was bang to rights.

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Referee Hollie Davidson – who became the first female to oversee an EPCR final on Friday night – adjudged that Niniashvili had cut inside and that was enough mitigation to allow Underhill to escape with yellow instead of red. She had previously sent off the 28-year-old against Pau earlier this season.

On that basis the England flanker would be wise to try his hand on this weekend’s lottery numbers. Direct contact to the head and full of force, it looked – it has to be said – like a textbook red card.

La Rochelle boss Ronan O’Gara took to social media to voice his apparent displeasure with the decision, writing on X: “Players safety….🤯🤯🙈”.

Others suggested that while Underhill got away with a harsher sanction on the night, the citing commissioner might not be so lenient. That could have ramifications not only for Bath’s tilt at a first Premiership title since 1996 but also England’s tour of Argentina this summer.

Underhill could also be one of the back-rowers that Andy Farrell turns to if he needs reinforcements for his Lions squad in Australia.

He wasn’t the only one to see yellow for Johan van Graan’s men in Cardiff as Will Muir’s clumsy in-the-air challenge on Lyon’s opening try-scorer Ethan Dumortier saw him join Underhill in the sin-bin and leave Bath temporarily down to 13, although they still led 17-5 at half-time.

Bath eventually ran out convincing winners 37-12 to go two-thirds of the way towards a potential treble after previously lifting the Premiership Rugby Cup. They are already guaranteed a first-place regular season finish in the Gallagher Premiership but must navigate the play-offs to secure a first league title since 1996 to complete a treble.

Let us know what you think on social media @rugbyworldmag, should Sam Underhill have had a red card? Does rugby know what a red card looks like?

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