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High tackles grab headlines again and it's not just Farrell's latest effort

By Josh Raisey
Owen Farrell

High tackles were at the centre of attention again in round eight of the Gallagher Premiership as cards were, or more importantly, were not handed out.

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This is a topic that will always be complicated, and there will never be universal agreement at decisions, but this past weekend was particularly contentious.

Bristol Bears’ loosehead Jordan Lay saw yellow against Leicester Tigers on Saturday for his high shot on Telusa Veainu. Referee JP Doyle conceded that he did try to make a legal tackle, but clipped his head nonetheless, and in this current climate it warranted a card.

There were two incidents after Bristol’s match which have caused more controversy though. The first involved Saracens’ Owen Farrell for his shoulder to the neck of Worcester Warriors winger Tom Howe. The England flyhalf has a reputation for dubious tackles, and this has once again been assigned to the catalogue of hits he has got away with, much to the spleen of fans.

https://twitter.com/MikeP39369411/status/1213800738121568259?s=20
https://twitter.com/mert198012/status/1213732345766957057?s=20

However, while some feel that Farrell receives preferential treatment, Northampton Saints centre Rory Hutchinson was just as lucky in a frenzied match against Wasps on Sunday for a very similar tackle on Charlie Matthews.

https://twitter.com/Alex90Lan/status/1213869353621434369?s=20

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Referee Matthew Carley let the Scotland centre off for his tackle as Matthews’ body position had lowered before contact. It was perhaps also helped by the fact that the Saints had just seen Tom Collins receive a red card for taking Jacob Umaga out in the air, and were about to see Cobus Reinach handed a yellow card.

https://twitter.com/RoundRugby/status/1213868183939104768?s=20

Farrell and Hutchinson were saved by the fact that they were secondary tacklers on players that were already going to ground, unlike Lay, who was the sole tackler on Veainu. However, given some of the dismissals seen over the past twelve months, no one would have complained if the Englishman or the Scot were sent off, or at least sent to the sin-bin.

There would possibly have been even more uproar if one of the Saracen or Saint was punished and the other one was not, meaning there is a degree of consistency amongst the decisions, albeit what many feel were the wrong decisions.

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While there was plenty of confusion during the Rugby World Cup at the liberality in which cards were awarded, that has quickly become the norm and the standard set, and now there is perhaps as much bewilderment at the lack of punishment.

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J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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