Every red card from this weekend's Heineken Champions Cup
A few years ago, red cards were a rare sight. Flash forwards to this weekend and there have been five red cards dished out across eight Heineken Champions Cup ties. Not all the teams that dropped to 14 men ended up losing their tie, but the impact of losing a player is always hard felt.
Below RugbyPass takes a closer look at each of the four incidents.
Arron Reed, Bristol Bears v Sale Sharks
This all-English affair could have hinged entirely around a red card administered in the first half when Sale were 10-3 ahead. Fortunately for the Sharks, Arron Reed’s dismissal did not result in their demise.
Poor tackle by Sales Arron Reed.
No mitigation, he's off ?#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/52COIMQWnp
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) April 15, 2022
As Bristol winger Luke Morahan found space down the right flank, he was hunted down by Reed. The Sale winger made the hit on his opposite man but ascended in the tackle, making contact with Morahan’s head. There was no question about whether the tackle made was a legal one and Reed was soon sent off.
Maama Vaipulu, La Rochelle v Bordeaux Bègles
This was a real moment of madness. With just 25 minutes on the clock, Bordeaux’s Maama Vaipulu was red carded for shoulder charging.
Ma'amai Vaipulu red card ?#LARvBOR | #HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/ToSW7NIabE
— Saffas Abroad Rugby (@SaffasRugby) April 16, 2022
La Rochelle already had the advantage on the scoresheet, after comprehensively beating their French compatriots 31-13 last weekend. The score was evenly poised at 3-3 in the second leg when Vaipulu, not unfamiliar to illegal on field conduct, decided to drive his shoulder into Jonathan Danty’s face.
The tackle made little sense, as Danty was running a support line for flyhalf Ihaia West, who had broken through the defensive line into space. At no point in the move did the French centre have the ball in hand, but this did not stop Vaipulu from making the hit.
After a quick TMO referral, referee Wayne Barnes reached into his pocket and pulled out a red for the number eight. Incidentally, this was not the first time Vaipulu has been sent off in the Champions Cup.
Ollie Chessum, Leicester Tigers v Clermont Auvergne
The Tigers were in the driving seat for most of this tie but still did not escape the referee’s book. The Englishmen were leading 22-10 with less than 20 minutes left, when Ollie Chessum was removed from the field for a high tackle on Samuel Ezeala, who had only just been subbed on.
2022 is on track to be the season where the most red cards EVER have been dealt out.
Red card for Leicester ? pic.twitter.com/HouWyuSJB0
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 16, 2022
Chessum is six foot seven and that height negatively impacted him on this occasion, as he failed to get low enough when making the hit. Instead of tackling Ezeala below shoulder height, the young flanker caught the winger in the face and was given a red for the infringement.
Tom O’Toole, Ulster v Toulouse
Ulster were 15 minutes away from progressing to the quarter finals, leading the reigning European Champions Toulouse by three points on aggregate, when disaster struck.
Yeah, you can't do that…
Tom O'Toole saw red for Ulster in undoubtedly the turning point of the game. pic.twitter.com/9xs7yN04XU
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) April 16, 2022
Anthony Jelonch was leaning over, bracing for a tackle when carrying the ball into contact. Replacement prop Tom O’Toole remained upright and, as he tried to wrap Jelonch, made contact with the French flanker’s head. As shoulder hit head, hopes of a third Irish side reaching the next round fell apart.
The lowered body position of Jelonch was a mitigating factor in the tackle, but was not enough to prevent O’Toole from receiving a red card. Ulster then went on to lose the tie after dropping to 14 men.
Sefa Naivalu, Racing 92 v Stade Francais
Stade Francais were always the underdogs in this match up but with 34 minutes played in the second leg, they found themselves leading 15-6. Excitement quickly turned to shock when Teddy Thomas broke down the right and offloaded to Louis Dupichot. The Racing fullback looked set to score until Sefa Naivalu came in from the side with a no-arms tackle.
A scary one for Louis Dupichot ?
No attempt to wrap, shoulder to shoulder, head to head, second yellow and Sefa Naivalu is off ?#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/LCt1Ip6jyu
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) April 17, 2022
Naivalu’s inability to wrap meant he was red carded, while Dupichot was subbed off after being injured in the tackle. Racing were awarded a penalty try as well, making matters worse for the men in pink who quickly lost control of the tie.
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments