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'One of the worst tackles I've ever seen': Even ex-Saracens lock Hamilton can't defend Owen Farrell
Jim Hamilton, a former Champions Cup and Premiership title-winning Saracens teammate of Owen Farrell, has described the tackle that resulted in the England talisman’s sending-off last Saturday as “one of the worst tackles I have ever seen”.
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Farrell is due to attend a virtual RFU disciplinary hearing on Tuesday night to learn what suspension he will have to serve for the red card that was given to him after he high tackled Wasps’ Charlie Atkinson during Saracens’ Gallagher Premiership home loss.
With a ban all but guaranteed for the crunching illegal tackle, Farrell is set to miss Saracens’ long-awaited Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final on September 19 at Leinster, the Irish club they defeated in the May 2019 final in Newcastle.
However, there will be trepidation that how the bad the tackle was could even impact on his availability for England, who pick up the thread for 2020 with an October 25 outing versus the Barbarians at Twickenham six days before they travel to Rome to face Italy and complete their delayed Guinness Six Nations campaign.
Ex-Scotland second row Hamilton, who played with Farrell at Saracens from 2015 through to his 2017 retirement, took issue with last Saturday’s red card incident when appearing on the latest episode of The Rugby Pod, the weekly show he fronts with Andy Goode, the former England out-half.
"It's a really bad one… I can't defend that."
Owen Farrell was shown a red card against Wasps for this tackle on Charlie Atkinson…
Lawrence Dallaglio considers the implications for Saracens AND England. pic.twitter.com/xZuOfEZK9E
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) September 5, 2020
He said: “I watched the clip and it looked bad and then you see his name [Farrell] start trending on Twitter, and then you watch it back and watch it back and then I get carried away because I start watching stuff that other people are putting together, they start putting music over the top and compilations together and stuff, going down the social media route.
“I’m just watching that stuff and watching the reaction, some of the messages coming through, so let’s park that for now. I have now gone back and watched the highlights properly on the big plasma at home, no kids, so I’m fully engaged in it. What I didn’t want to do was piggyback Goodey’s tweet and be like I 100 per cent agree.
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“I’ve not put anything out about it because people know about my relationship with Owen, people know that it’s easy to jump on the bandwagon, but I’m going to go to it – it’s one of the worst tackles I have ever seen.
“Seriously. It doesn’t matter what we say or how we open people up or whatever, what will be will be. There are just some tackles that you see, it’s like punching someone in the face, right? It’s like if you ran up to someone and you’re running as fast as you can and punched them in the face, it’s completely unacceptable.
“Now it’s not at that level because he has gone to make the tackle but the force in which he has hit him [Atkinson] and the height in which has hit him – and yes he is slightly dipping, there is a lot of chat about Atkinson’s age, only being a young lad, and that shouldn’t come into it. There is a part of that where it’s wrong, but he’s still a young lad, you know what I mean?
“One of the other things about it was just the way it just stopped dead after he has made that tackle. Was it accidental? This is up for debate, we don’t know. But I’ll just go back to it again, I’ve watched it on TV on Monday on my own, no hidden agenda – that’s a f**kin’ bad tackle.
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“Like, as in I’d say that’s an awful tackle and you can’t get away from that and the more you watch it the worse it gets… it was coming, you tackle that high. If he has hit him low it’s an unbelievable tackle, unbelievable tackle. But he hasn’t. He has hit him high and he has knocked him out, the poor lad.”
McCall has addressed the big Premiership talking point of the weekend. That tackle. https://t.co/qoLZpfYLQF
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 7, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Results probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
1 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to comments