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'Dumb tackle choice': RFU chief's blunt verdict on Munster red card
The clampdown on shoulder-to-head tackles in the Heineken Champions Cup continued on Saturday with Jack O’Donoghue of Munster red-carded for his first-half collision with Northampton’s Dave Ribbans in Limerick.
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Munster were 17-0 ahead when the play at Thomond Park was halted with the clock showing 22:10 minutes gone. Referee Tual Trainini had initially decided he would brandish O’Donoghue with only a yellow card but he was encouraged to take another look at the footage by his TMO Eric Gauzins.
The different angles he saw resulted in him upgrading the seriousness of the foul play tackle and with no mitigation evident according to the officials, O’Donoghue was sent off just three minutes after he had scored the second Munster try.
“Eric, what I see now is a contact to the head by the No6 red on No4 white,” said Trainini to his TMO. “This is foul play as the player is upright and the level of danger is high. At this moment I am on a red card so let’s see if we have a mitigating factor.
Gauzins replied: “Let me show you a wide angle… It’s an okay decision.” That left Trainini to conclude: “I don’t see a change in height, I don’t see a change in dynamic due to the first tackle so for me, I don’t see a mitigating factor. I am on a red card against six red.”
Oh no! ?
After a brilliant start to the match, @Munsterrugby find themselves a man down.
Jack O'Donoghue sees red after a dangerous tackle ?#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/IwFGXDNJbJ
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) January 14, 2023
Ex-Ireland lock Donncha O’Callaghan, who twice won the Champions Cup with Munster, agreed with the outcome. “It’s the right decision,” he said while co-commentating for BT Sport. “It’s is going to be tough to take, especially for Jack O’Donoghue, but I think it is the right decision.
“We have to keep going with this, we have to tidy up the game for head contact. That is contact with a shoulder to head, it is a red card. I do feel sorry for Jack O’Donoghue. Late at the line he has to change his decision but you have to be lower.”
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Studio pundit Conor O’Shea, the RFU’s director of performance, remarked at half-time: “Donncha was great on commentary. There was no excusing that as a Munster man. Players have to learn. There is no malice in what he did there, it was just a dumb tackle choice that he didn’t need to make.”
Ex-England skipper Lawrence Dallaglio added: “You score a try in the back row up against a pretty strong back row and you are feeling good about life until you make the wrong tackle selection. I don’t think there are any doubts about it.
“Jack O’Donoghue had time to adjust, he could have easily gone in for the turnover and if you make contact without wrapping your arm, it’s a very easy decision for the referee. His body height is still going up as he makes contact. A very easy decision for the referee.”
The red card was the second of the day in the tournament for shoulder-to-head contact as Sale’s Cobus Wiese was sent off for a similar incident in his team’s defeat to Toulouse.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Super rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
8 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
8 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
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