'Ludicrous': Former England flyhalf slams red card decision in Pretoria

REACTION: Former England flyhalf Andy Goode has slammed the decision to give Exeter captain Henry Slade a red card in Saturday's Champions Cup Round Three tie against the Bulls in Pretoria.

Slade received his marching orders in the 55th minute of the game for a high tackle on Bulls fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse.

The match officials agreed that contact was made directly to Arendse's head, but Goode believes they got it horribly wrong.

"Never a red card for Henry Slade, ludicrous decision," was Goode's response on Twitter.

"First contact is on the shoulder and he slides up."

Exeter hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, who did not make the trip to Pretoria because of an ankle injury, was also not impressed by the decision. He also took to social media to share his opinion.

Speaking after the match, Exeter head coach Ali Hepher believes that mitigating factors were not taken into account when his captain received the red card in the 28-39.

"Looking at the video, I would say the initial contact is with the top of the arm and then that bounces up around the head," said Hepher.

"He [Arendse] is pretty low in his body position and he is bent at the knees.

"We will just have to look at it in the week and see what the best approach is for Henry and the club."

Hepher admitted that the red card played a big role in the end result, despite the Bulls having a sizable lead by then.

"We always felt that we would be in the game but it is obviously a big moment," said the Exeter coach.

"I don't think it was necessarily the defining moment but we had a penalty advantage when that penalty gets given [to the Bulls].

"If we could have gone into the corner and scored, then it changes the game completely.

"Sometimes those situations happen in the heat of the moment.

"We will look at it in the week and see what we do going forward."

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The positives

Despite the defeat, there were some positives Exeter could take out of the game.

"There are lots. A bonus point [for scoring for tries] in Europe is probably a par score, so that is obviously pleasing and how we came back for that," said Hepher.

"The guys will be able to take confidence from the adjustment to altitude.

"We were our own downfall at times, so we can go toe-to-toe with these quality sides, especially in South Africa.

"We can go toe-to-toe with all teams in Europe.

"We got to make sure we don't contribute to our downfall with the penalties and the errors that probably cost us in this game."

@rugby365com