Organisers To Adjust Man Of Match Awards For RWC Quarter-Finals

World Cup organisers are to adjust the way the man of the match is decided in time for the quarter-finals after Joe Launchbury spoke of the “embarrassing” award he received when England were knocked out.

Moments after the hosts had been routed by Australia at Twickenham, sealing their tournament demise, Launchbury was forced to give a pitchside interview at Twickenham upon being handed his trophy.

It was among the 24-year-old’s finest performances in an England jersey, but Bernard Foley and David Pocock were outstanding for the Wallabies and would have been worthier recipients.

Every bit as baffling was Uruguay’s Agustin Ormaechea scoring a try against Fiji, being named man of the match and then receiving his marching orders after being sent off for a yellow card offence – all in the space of eight minutes.

The existing voting system sees a shortlist of three players selected by the tournament’s world feed radio early in the second half before fans choose their preferred choice on social media, resulting in some bizarre picks.

“There is a rethink happening because there have been a few challenges,” head of Rugby World Cup Alan Gilpin said.

“Any man-of-the-match scenario where you have a public vote and that public vote takes place at a particular point in the game leads to some anomalies.

“We saw that with the Uruguay player who received a red card shortly after being named man of the match and of course the Launchbury situation.

“We’re looking at that now before the knockout stage and the plan is for the change to be made. We’re adjusting the timing and the way the voting takes place.”

Source: The Guardian