This year's Six Nations Championship has seen the where referees can hand out 20-minute red cards to players.

Teams can introduce a new player to replace their sent-off team-mate after the4 20 minutes have passed. The first 20-minute red card in the history of was handed to ’s Romain Ntamack in their 43-0 win over Wales.

The French fly-half was given his marching orders for in the latter stages of their win at the Stade de France on Friday night.

While this rule has been introduced to punish players instead of punishing entire teams, many are not pleased with its introduction, particularly with how it can impact player safety. This includes former Wales international Alix Popham who minced no words when commenting on the rule.

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Popham, who earned 33 caps for Wales from 2003 to 2008, did not hold back in criticising the new 20-minute red card rule and how the administration was more concerned with making rugby a spectacle rather than prioritising player safety.

“What they [rugby bosses] are saying is b******t. It’s smoke and mirrors. I’m sick to death of them talking about player safety when it is total and utter rubbish. All they care about is the product,” said the 45-year-old on the People’s Channel.

“They’ve brought in the 20 minute red card. That shows, yet again, that the product is the number one priority, not the player’s health. If it’s not a full red card and you’ve got another player back on after 20 minutes, then the punishment for that red carded player just isn’t that bad. Players will just continue doing it.

Popham has had his fair share of medical issues as a result of his days as a rugby player. In 2020, the former Welsh star was diagnosed with dementia, with doctors suggesting he had suffered 100,000 sub-concussions during his career.

Popham is not alone in his opposition to the new 20-minute red card rule with the Irish Rugby Union (IRFU) and French Rugby Federation (FFR) also voicing their disapproval of this addition to the Six Nations.

Ahead of the opening day of this season’s Six Nations, the IRFU emphasised that player welfare must remain the top priority, while the FFR strongly opposed the introduction of 20-minute red cards, calling it an "unacceptable step backwards."

Six Nations Chief of Rugby Julie Patterson responded to the criticism and said: "Everyone is working together to ensure we are exploring new and innovative ways to make the game as safe as possible, alongside ambitions to enhance the spectacle for fans."