Rugby 'broken' By Officiating And Long Games - Ferris

Former Ireland world Stephen Ferris said that he felt that rugby was "broken" while watching Ireland's 24-13 defeat against South Africa owed to nan officiating.

Referee Matthew Carley showed Ireland 5 yellowish cards, successful a crippled which lasted complete 2 hours.

After James Ryan's yellowish paper was upgraded to a 20-minute reddish card, Sam Prendergast, Jack Crowley, Andrew Porter and Paddy McCarthy were each sent to nan sin-bin for infringements arsenic nan hosts played pinch 12 players for 10 minutes successful nan 2nd half.

And Ferris, who won 35 caps for Ireland, says World Rugby request an urgent reappraisal to tackle nan expanding stop-start quality of world rugby games.

"World Rugby needs to find a measurement to not make a crippled of rugby 132 minutes long," he told BBC Sport NI's Stephen Watson.

"I person had a batch of group connection maine to opportunity they sewage saturated during nan crippled and particularly erstwhile you're trying to bring kids, their attraction span tin beryllium short astatine nan champion of times, we person to make it accelerated and quick.

"In Dublin it felt for illustration nan crippled was broken, I didn't person a hint what was going connected and if I didn't person a conception what was going connected sitting connected nan sideline, past what did nan different 52,000 group successful nan Aviva think. It was conscionable a mess.

"A ample portion was down to Ireland of course, because of their ill-disciple, nan yellowish cards and nan aggregate penalties astatine scrum-time, but I consciousness if location was a Nigel Owens [former Welsh referee] successful complaint of that crippled it would person been handled a batch differently, location would person been much consistency and free-flowing rugby that we want to salary to spell watch."

Ireland vanished nan Autumn Nations Series pinch 2 wins (over Japan and Australia) and 2 losses (against New Zealand and South Africa) successful what Ferris described arsenic "disappointing" November for Andy Farrell's side.

They will not beryllium successful action again until February, erstwhile they look holders France successful their opening crippled of nan Six Nations successful Paris and Ferris admitted nan likes of Les Bleus and England presently look successful amended style to situation for nan title than Ireland.

"I deliberation location are ever concerns erstwhile you look astatine different teams who are doing really good and look to beryllium further up connected this Rugby World Cup cycle," he added.

"Six Nations is astir getting arsenic precocious up nan array and Ireland's nonsubjective will beryllium winning it. There is simply a batch of prize money to beryllium played for which helps money nan national and takes unit off.

"Taking everything into consideration, I deliberation Ireland will beryllium 1 of nan favourites, but location is simply a small portion of maine is worried astir nan different teams because we are distant successful nan first crippled to France and if you get disconnected to a tricky aliases antagonistic commencement that tin effect you going forward, I've been location and done it."