Why the referees should really be looking at the Dan Biggar tackle on Samu Kerevi, not Rhys Patchell's
‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.’ (Charles Dickens – The Tale of Two Cities)
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika is in the middle of his own winter of despair after his side were defeated 29-25 by a disciplined and deserved Welsh side in the seminal and controversial pool D match at Tokyo on Sunday.
The combustible coach was left seething after yet more contentious officiating regarding a tackle contest between the ball carrying Wallaby centre Samu Kerevi and replacement Welsh flyhalf Rhys Patchell which ultimately saw Kerevi penalised for reckless conduct with his forearm for indirect contact with the throat of the upright Patchell.
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Cheika said, “It was pretty funny because I thought I had seen that tackle before, it could have been Reece Hodge, I am not sure. When our guy makes that tackle and has the high tackle framework in his head, he gets suspended.
“This guy doesn’t think about the high tackle framework and we get penalised.”
Michael Cheika is somewhat justified in his anger, yet the comparison to the Reece Hodge tackle on Fijian Peceli Yato in the opening pool match which saw Hodge suspended for three weeks is not the tackle example Cheika should be comparing the tackle that drew the attention of TMO Ben Skeen.
In fact, Cheika should be looking at the tackle that effectively introduced the reserve Patchell into the contest in the first place.
The Dan Biggar tackle on Samu Kerevi.
Let me explain; The Rhys Patchell tackle on Samu Kerevi is lawful, albeit high, as there is no contact with the head or neck of Kerevi. Ironically its lawfulness is assisted by the ball runner himself.
If you look at Rhys Patchell, he is very upright and appears to be attempting to affect a ‘soak tackle’ on Kerevi thus preventing Kerevi from offloading and creating further attacking momentum for the Wallabies. Yet what would be a probable consequence if Kerevi were to have kept his arms straight down by his side (something very hard to down when you are running)?
I submit that the head and or shoulder area of Patchell would have either directly or indirectly come into contact with effectively the same area of the ball runner Kerevi thus rendering the Patchell tackle unlawful per the new troublesome World Rugby High Tackle Decision Making Framework.
Continue reading below…
Now turning to the Dan Biggar tackle on Samu Kerevi a short time before the Patchell tackle. Here we see Biggar going into tackle Samu Kerevi but importantly Biggar himself places his head in a dangerous position, that being in front of the ball runner.
Kerevi, as he should have complete right to do is looking to bump off the defender Biggar with his right forearm and shoulder. Subsequently, contact was made between Kerevi and Biggar with the ball being dislodged and Biggar being removed from the field for a head injury assessment that he later failed.
The rationale inference is that the head area of Biggar come into direct or indirect contact with the body of Samu Kerevi namely the right shoulder forearm area thus dislodging or contributing to the dislodgment of the ball and injuring his head at the same time.
Yet not a peep out of the TMO, assistant referees or match referee Romain Poite. Why not? We have a player with a head injury. Or were they happy to accept that Dan Biggar contributed to his own demise by poor tackle technique?
Clearly, there is a player who has sustained an injury to the head as a result of contact with a ball runner who is leading with a shoulder forearm, albeit at a lower height. Yet Samu Kerevi was not deemed to have been dangerous or reckless in this incident.
Turning back to the Patchell tackle, at the point of contact Kerevi has his left shoulder and forearm also tucked into his body, it is the follow-through that slides up onto Patchell’s throat, effects no injury what so ever yet is deemed reckless by the officials. Despite advocacy by Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper arguing that poor tackle technique was a factor in the Patchell incident referee Poite was having none of it.
The tackle techniques of Biggar or Patchell were poor. Both had contact made to the head and throat respectively due to where they chose to place their heads not directly due to the actions of the ball runner Samu Kerevi who on each occasion at the point of contact had his respective forearm tucked to his own body.
One received a head assessment injury, the other attracted a penalty for his side. If World Rugby is concerned about player welfare, why was the incident concerning the injured player, not an issue for the officials at the time yet the other ‘reckless’ and worthy of a penalty?
It is contentious and inconsistent officiating that frustrates player, coach and fans alike and such accompanying confusions breed discontent, despair and ultimately disillusionment with the game. It is difficult to fathom that during a World Cup, the showcase of the game, that the Code’s governing body World Rugby has facilitated such a tense atmosphere when it comes to the point of collision during a match despite its good intentions with its new High Tackle Decision Making Framework.
Whilst the Code is not dying, I suggest the officiating of the point of collision in this tournament requires a ‘recall to life’. I’m not convinced justice is actually being done to the players affected by the officiating and the World Rugby’s Judicial officers.
“Whatever is, is right” is the dictum of the Old Bailey. Should not apply to World Rugby and how it administers the game but I fear it is heading in that direction and perhaps further judicial reform is required to avoid further contention.
It is a game of two teams and a game of two halves, but to prosper it should only ever be a game of one clear understanding.
Cheika and Hooper reflect on loss to Wales:
Comments on RugbyPass
Havili, 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.
7 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.
55 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.
7 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 commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
61 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to comments