'I hope the fan is happy' - Cheika defends Tui after scuffle with fan and explains why it kicked off
Wallaby forward Lukhan Tui may step away from the game after an angry fan confronted him in an unsavoury incident following Australia’s loss to Argentina at the Cbus Super stadium on the Gold Coast.
The fan was shown being wrested away by a fellow spectator, as players tried to assuage the situation.
Headcoach Michael Cheika was asked about the situation and explained the background to it. Tui’s step-father died suddenly during the week and his teammates donned black arm-bands during the game in honour of his passing.
The incident with the member of the crowd added insult to injury for the backrow and he has now asked the ARU to take a break from the game.
Woah. Understand frustration from wallabies fans, but no room for this. Ugly at the Gold Coast. Push and shove between fans and players pic.twitter.com/rIduG6ajgj
— Chris Dutton (@BlockaDutton) September 15, 2018
“I don’t think that’s appropriate that that happened. I get the discontent and you own that; words, abuse comes sometimes, that’s the way it is.
“You have to suck it up when you don’t play well and own that. He pushed the younger sister and Lukhan didn’t like that and that’s fair enough considering everything that’s happened to him this week.
“You shouldn’t be pushing a kid in the crowd.”
“[It got] to a point where the player is in the dressing room [saying] he’s not going to be playing anymore because of that incident,” Cheika said. “I hope the fan is happy.”
“He’s not going to play and he needs a rest. That’s a pretty heavy thing to happen. He just said it in the dressing room to players now off the back of a very difficult dressing room. It’s not what you want to have.”
The Wallabies had their moments in attack and despite a disjointed performance still had a late chance to steal victory, but ultimately were out enthused by the visitors who secured their first win on Australian soil since 1983.
Argentina were the first to strike when fullback Emiliano Boffelli slotted a penalty goal from beyond the halfway line, before the Wallabies returned serve with the first try of the match through a brilliant passage of play finished by Will Genia after winger Reece Hodge turned the ball back inside.
Five minutes later, the visitors hit back when man of the match Nicolas Sanchez scored and converted his own try, before a stunning individual effort from Israel Folau who breezed past five defenders to score in the corner, returned the lead to the men in gold, 14-10.
The score would remain that way until the 37th minute, when a defensive lapse from the Wallabies allowed flanker Pablo Matera through a hole from deep inside his own half to set up a try for speedy winger, Bautista Delguy.
Leading by three points at the break, Argentina extended their lead to six points before the Wallabies backline clicked again and fullback Dane Haylett-Petty chimed on to the end of the lien to score in the corner.
The second half descended into a pure battle as both teams surrendered good attacking opportunities and the only other score came off the boot of Boffelli, who roosted another penalty goal from beyond halfway to make it 23-19.
The game eventually came down to the final play, where first-half try-scorer Folau backed himself for the line but was dispossessed in a heavy front on tackle from Pumas lock Tomas Lavanini.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
1 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to commentswel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
6 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
6 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
6 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
8 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
8 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
8 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
8 Go to comments