Video: 'You don't tackle someone with your arms, you tackle someone with your shoulder' - Underhill staunchly defends Farrell
Following Tom Curry’s ankle injury against South Africa, Bath flanker Sam Underhill will be one of those hoping to stake a claim to England’s number seven shirt against New Zealand this weekend.
Having played 27 minutes for his club in last week’s Premiership Cup loss to Exeter, Underhill is back in the England camp having watched the second half of the Springbok clash in the Chiefs clubhouse, as he told RugbyPass.
Underhill said, “It was good watching it down there, they went mad when Moonie came on. It was a good performance, it was pretty tough stuff, pretty gritty work. It was a testament to the lads’ workrate and effort. It was great to see them get the result.”
Asked whether he had any concerns at the final whistle when referee Angus Gardner consulted the TMO over Farrell’s tackle, Underhill replied, “I thought it was fine – I would do! I would have been surprised if it was called back for anything. I think common sense prevailed in the end. I thought it was a pretty good tackle.”
He continued, “I think the tackle height rules have been laid out pretty clearly that anything neck and up is going to be sanctioned, a penalty at least. Then I think it’s quite clear with the wrap stuff. I think the difficulty is, from an observational point of view, from watching it on the sidelines to actually being a player and knowing what it feels like to tackle someone. You don’t tackle someone with your arms, you tackle someone with your shoulder – every tackle, people tackle with their shoulders.”
Underhill explains, “I think sometimes the way your arms can get caught can make it look more like a shoulder charge. I think potentially some people get penalised unfairly because a big contact means it looks worse because you bounce off each other and you can’t wrap them up. So I think that was probably the reason at the weekend because the tackle was so big they ended up a metre apart and there was no way he could get his arms around him. I think that’s the difficult thing.”
While Eddie Jones will consider whether to move Newcastle’s Mark Wilson to the openside or to give Underhill his fourth start for England, the Bath man seems confident that the current law interpretations are clear around the tackle area.
Underhill told RugbyPass, “I think from players there’s a fairly good understanding of what is and isn’t alright. I suppose it’s just down to the refs to be consistent with it. I don’t think there’s an awful lot of disparity between them and if there was, you’d find out fairly quickly.”
Watch: Head coach Rassie Erasmus does tackle practice with Springboks
Comments on RugbyPass
anybody who bends at the waist when they tackle
3 Go to commentsThe evidence is not strong that this is necessary. Mounga choked on clutch kicks in the WRC final and lost the match by not performing his core goal kicking role to the level required. He also choked in the Semi final against England and was targeted as the weak point in the defence allowing them to score. Not a test great frankly. Why bend the rules for a player that is competent but not brilliant at test level?
11 Go to commentsDear Robbie, Please return to the Crusaders next season. Sincerely, Scott
1 Go to commentsDid the big E call the Irish the ‘White Can’ts’? That would’ve been good
30 Go to commentsDalton Papalii will be lucky to be selected on the Matchday 23. Ardie Savea, Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson, and Peter Lauki are all as good or better openside flankers
9 Go to commentsScott Barrett is a lock and they have a much longer shelf life than a loose forward. Far more likely that Barrett will still demand a starting position based on performance at age 33 at RWC 2027 than Savea, whose explosive athleticism will have declined and he will in all likelihood have been surpassed by Hoskins Sotutu, Wallace Siti, Peter Lauki and Brayden Iose.
9 Go to commentsExtremely frustrating to get yet more speculation over whether or not Eben actually counted 12 players or not, but honestly big respect to McCloskey for keeping it classy and not pointing out Etzebeth’s hypocrisy. The Irish are a popular team outside of Ireland because they do their talking on the pitch, and its honestly a PR masterclass that they’re keeping it that way following Etzebeth’s provocation.
30 Go to commentsGood option for the lineout lost there.
1 Go to commentsIt’s not like Saffas have a long history of spouting absolute shite at any & every occasion. Oh wait… The dangers of an inferior third world education strike again.
30 Go to commentsI’m so glad we’re revisiting this. Really needs to be dissected further. I’m also so glad that a guy in the stands who wasn’t anywhere near the field when any of it would have been said (and even confirms this) has taken the lead and commented as Ireland. Definitely cleared it all up. This article would be hilarious if it wasn’t so misleading.
30 Go to commentsits such a shame he hasn’t achieved more success at club level. He’s really not been a potent finisher for a while now, but he’s still excellent in the kick chase. That’s the kind of skillset that generally only gets appreciated when you’re playing in premiership and european finals. I’m not sure whether the challenge cup counts given the quality of the competition seems lower than in previous years, but his duel with Mapimpi should be enthralling.
1 Go to commentsThe point is the irish players were arrogant,call it like you want sugar coat it aswell but they were you could see it in their way they handeled themselfs on the field when they got something right so dont tell me it was not arrogance it was,you can fool other people but not me,and to say to one of our players see you in the final put a nail in the coffin for this bullsh@t,just be grown men and accept it that you were arrogant,you could if seen it from a mile away, and then you lost to the allblacks what a cocky move that didnt work out for you ,Eben was right when he said u were arrogant,the point is you will deny it because you lost it all just grow some balls and move on we had won you lost accept it.
30 Go to comments“summer tour of North and South America” so its a summer tour of america?
1 Go to commentsEverybody is giving the Irish players the benefit of the doubt in ‘what they meant’, but none of these pundits or commentators offer the same courtesy to Eben. I don’t think Eben went, 1, 2, 3… etc. What might have happened is he didn’t count and when the 3rd or 5th guy said he went, hang on why are so many of them saying this… and then started to concentrate on it more and more as players continue to say it. So no, he didn’t count it, he realised many Irish players said it and made an assumption based on that… The Irish team was VERY confident at the time and I do believe they believed they were going to win the World Cup, which borders a bit on the arrogant side…
30 Go to commentsI can see how some of the Irish players would have said”see you in the final” as a gentle comment after a victory. It’s open to interpretation but it’s clumsy language. I don’t know the fella but I assure you Eben doesn’t have an axe to grind with Ireland. He has never been the media seeking pro. Oh and BTW it is I’ll be our winter in July so won’t be wet.
30 Go to comments*McCloskey*: _I saw this clip. Like, I wasn’t playing that game; I was in the stands…so you don't know sh!t in other words, infact you know just as much as Goode on this matter. I will believe the guy who was on the pitch when things were said as appose to two people speculating over what was said._
30 Go to comments@ turlough dream on buddy. Your boys are in for one tough time down in sa this summer…
30 Go to commentsI think Goode is looking to establish a platform for himself. Eben said “Probably” so that suggests he wasn’t counting. It’s an estimate Goode. I think even with your short and uneventful experience with the Sharks you probably realise winding up Saffas will get you some airtime. It’s a none event. Move on
30 Go to commentsRugby has never been as structured and synthetically pleasing as it is at this moment. The game is simply beautiful and messing with it too much will ruin it for everyone. I can't help but feel that over the past decade or so many rules have been changed to accommodate a certain hemisphere and counter another. Perhaps I am wrong but I somehow don’t think so.
2 Go to commentsNoted some excellent defensive steals from the Rebs last week against the Reds, largely J Canham, I think. It’s not a Rolls Royce but they are a real threat with their defensive line out at the beginning matches. What do you make of Canham Nick, WBs squad material?
86 Go to comments