Australians are quite right to be complaining about Samipeni Finau

If I’m a little bloke, who’s not in possession of the ball, I shouldn’t expect to get cleaned up by Samipeni Finau.

It’s pretty evident that the Chiefs’ blindside flanker can hit. And, as any rugby player knows, they’re not the guys you want to run at.

But as Finau’s body of work builds, a trend is developing of him collecting guys late.

If Finau wants to return to the All Blacks’ fold, we can’t have that.

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Penalties and cards have the potential to decide test matches and Finau appears a candidate for both right now.

Rugby is a contact sport and, as we seek to minimise head contact in particular, we’ve lessened the target area for tacklers.

Finau seems to be hitting the target just fine. He’s wrapping his arms and keeping his shoulder away from people’s chins.

It’s just that some of the people he’s hitting have already passed to a support player.

Forgive me if I’m wrong about that, but the vision seems pretty conclusive.

Except maybe for those blinded by their New Zealand eyepatch.

I see and read that they’re whinging about Finau in Australia because their Super Rugby Pacific franchises don’t possess a hitter of his calibre.

That the types of tackles he’s affecting are commonplace in rugby league, for instance, and that Finau is the long-awaited successor to the great Jerome Kaino.

All right, let’s pick that apart a bit.

When I think of Kaino, I think of him lurking down a blindside. I see a man of similar stature carrying the ball towards him and that player being levelled.

In my mind’s eye, I don’t see Kaimo flying out of the line to hit a little bloke who’s not holding the ball anymore.

This type of hit was once a staple of the NRL, as retired halfback Andrew Johns well knows.

A neck injury forced Johns to give the game away prematurely, partly as a result of being blindsided by late hits.

As any fan of the Sydney Roosters knows, the laws have been changed to try and eliminate playmakers being hit without the ball. Nevertheless, Roosters prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is penalised for that offence most weeks.

The point is, though, that penalties do now exist for hitting guys who’ve passed the ball, as well as support players who were once routinely taken out on the suspicion – as they often referred to it – that they were about to receive the football.

If rugby folk in Australia are complaining about Finau, I think they’re doing it with some justification.

I admire his ability to hit and I commend the height at which he’s doing the hitting, I’m just dubious about his timing.

The game needs to protect players who are no longer in possession of the ball and I’d hope that, if Finau comes down on the wrong side of this fine line, he’s penalised appropriately.

In the meantime, a bit of coaching is required where Finau is concerned.

The highlights, if you can call them that, are out there. Opponents know he has the power and technique to whack them.

In that regard, running the ball at Finau has already become something people will shy away from.

But, if he is to be a legitimate weapon in the Chiefs’ and All Blacks’ arsenal, then the timing is critical.

Finau’s no good to any team on the sideline and you certainly wouldn’t want to see any opponent seriously hurt.

Thanks to one or two Aussies crying foul, there’s no doubt Finau’s technique and timing have now caught the attention of referees and Television Match Officials.