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'I'm still pretty angry about it': Injured All Black Tupaea resentful over Swain cleanout

Quinn Tupaea of the All Blacks is assisted from the field after sustaining a injury during The Rugby Championship & Bledisloe Cup match between the Australia Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks at Marvel Stadium on September 15, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

All Black second five-eighth Quinn Tupaea has opened up about his recovery from the ACL injury he suffered in last year’s Bledisloe Cup clash in Melbourne.

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The 23-year-old was competing a ruck when Wallabies lock Darcy Swain took a low angle to clean him off the ball, hitting the knee area which caused Tupaea to collapse awkwardly with two other Wallabies on top of him.

Tupaea suffered a serious knee injury as a result which has put his World Cup hopes in jeopardy and six months through the recovery he revealed to 1News he still holds resentment over the incident.

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The cleanout caused multiple ligament damage and a torn ACL which has been a painful process to recover from, resulting in lingering feelings of anger and resentment for the No 12.

“I’m still pretty angry about it,” he told 1News.

“It’s been tough to let it go – I wouldn’t wish this injury on anyone.

“It’s a terrible injury to go through. It’s probably going to be a long time before I can let it go.

“The start was pretty slow and painful… The first six weeks I struggled to leave the bed and the couch.

“I was stuck at home, I didn’t leave the house for six weeks.”

Swain was yellow carded at the time for the incident and handed a six-week suspension for the dangerous play.

The Chiefs midfielder has only just returned to jogging and will still miss the entire 2023 Super Rugby season leaving him in a race against the clock to be available for the Rugby World Cup.

Quinn Tupaea of the All Blacks is attended to by team trainers after an injury during The Rugby Championship & Bledisloe Cup match between the Australia Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks at Marvel Stadium on September 15, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
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The 14-Test All Black will return to NPC action with Waikato in July in a bid to push for selection but holds doubt over whether he has enough time to do so.

“Before I got injured, obviously, it was my goal to go to the Rugby World Cup but with the All Blacks’ midfield stock at the moment, it’s pretty congested and I’ll be playing no Super Rugby,” he said.

“I’ll be back in time playing for when the World Cup is around but whether I make it… I’m not sure.”

As a result of injuries to Tupaea and David Havili, who was forced off early in the same clash in Melbourne, the All Blacks coaches moved fullback Jordie Barrett into the midfield where he has played since.

The centre partnership of Barrett and Rieko Ioane finished the year as the All Blacks first-choice option.

All of the All Blacks’ most experienced midfielders, Anton Lienert-Brown, Jack Goodhue and Havili, remain sidelined with various injuries but all are expected to return to play ahead of the All Blacks Rugby Championship campaign.

Blues second five-eighth Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is also injured with a hand injury and is expected to miss a month of action.

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1 Comment
D
DC 835 days ago

well darcy swain or swine is luckly there are referees and asistant referees and citing otherwise he might be counting allblack stud marks from a ruck and maul

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JW 45 minutes ago
Three former All Blacks assess the playing style adopted against France

Yep Wilson at least does a lot of such research but I think it’s only when it revolves around the All Blacks etc, like he go and find out why Ireland whipped our butt etc, and come back with a view we need to imrpove and do x y z like such and such is.


But none of them are individuals that are a) any sort of quality coach/analyst of the game (NPC the highest), or b) seem to consume stupids amount of rugby for the love of it like people in a similar profession in other top leagues. Johnson is probably the only one I would say comes close to that but is a pure fan, I don’t think he has any pro knowledge.


To be fair to them, the best in say soccer or american football would get paid a hundred times what these guys do, but it’s so hard in those markets that all panelists have to be students of the game just to get a shot. And in the case of Beaver, he is like the Ian Smith of cricket, he’s a knowledgable gu, enough to lead people down the wrong track (they would believe him), but they’re both very obvious in their more parochial opinions that you know to take what Beavers saying with a grain of salt. Wilson, Marshall, and even Mils go off like they think theyre the bees knees,


Admittedly things are changing globably, i’ve glimpsed enough football shows to know the Britsih media are happy, and the fans too soaking it up, getting the most high profile ex players on a show as the best way to increase ratings.

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J
JW 1 hour ago
Beauden Barrett weighs in on controversial yellow card

It’s an interesting question because a normal diberate knock on is just a penalty offense, an normal infringement like any other, so that’s deemed where the was not a reasonable chance to catch the ball.


But it’s a ruling that can also be upgraded to a foul, and by association, a yellow card, when it’s it was also deliberately trying to deny the ball to another player. For instance, that is why they are just given penalties up the field, because the player has just made a bad decision (one where he had no reasonable chance) and he doesn’t really care if the pass had gone to hand for his opponents or not (he was just thinking about being a hero etc).


So the way the refs have been asked to apply the law is to basically just determine whether there was an overlap (and not to try and guess what the player was actually thinking) or not, as to whether it’s a penalty or a YC.


This is the part Barrett doesn’t like, he’s essentially saying “but I had no idea whether they were likely to score or not (whether there was an unmarked man), so how can you tell me I was deliberately trying to prevent it going to someone, it could have been a blind pass to no one”.


It’s WR trying to make it clear cut for fans and refs, if at the players expense.

But yes, also you must think it entirely possible given both were foul plays that they could both go to the bench. Much the same as we see regularly when even though the play scores a try, they have started sending the player off still.


And while I agree Narawa didn’t knock it on, I think the ball did go forward, just off the shoulder. As his hands were up in the air, above the ball, basically like a basketball hope over his right shoulder, I guess you’re right in that if it did make contact with his hands it would have had to be deflected backwards onto his shoulder etc. Looking at the replay, Le Garrec clearly lost control of the ball forward too, but because Barrett was deemed to have committed a deliberate act, that overrides the knockon from 9.


I just don’t understand how they can consider it a deliberate attempt to block a pass when he actually lost the ball forward!

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