Former Springbok opens up on mental health battle

The fact that there was no HIA and Schmidt and the WBs were actively considering Tizzano for selection this week tells the real story.

Either the injury was as severe as they suggested but they decided to ignore the welfare of the player anyway; or else. the severity of the injury was magnified out of all proportion.

Tizzano attacks the ball from a side entry position with no attempt to come through the gate or from the direction of his tryline (take your pick)

This whole no ruck arguement does my head in, just shows how little people understand the laws

May very well be his last high-profile management gig.

None of this is on either player. I don’t for a second think that Morgan is a dirty player or that Tizzano is a chancer who would be that cynical as to milk it.

It’s a failure of officiating. Collectively. Head contact is a penalty. He even states on his mic there is head contact!

Piardi goes straight to the TMO and says both players have arrived at the same time. They haven’t. If he asks the wrong questions he’ll always get the wrong answer.

Almost 75% of concussions take place around tackle areas. Every player at every level of the sport deserves to have their safety protected by officiating of a decent standard.

Once the tackle is completed and Ryan goes to ground (and illegally fails to release the ball) Tizzano has retreated to be first player through the gate.

I agree the HIA is a bad look for the Wallabies. I’m not trying to excuse that. If his mouthguard registered what was said to be double the force of a ‘standard’ impact then it should be an obligatory HIA. No excuses.

I obviously don’t agree Tizzano commits a tech offence but Ryan’s offence is first. In fact, it’s arguable that Itoje blocks Wilson just before Ryan receives he pass from the previous ruck…

The tackle hasn’t been completed when his right foot is in front of Ryan. When Ryan is brought to ground you can clearly see that Tizzano adjusts his feet before contesting the breakdown. While he pulls back to readjust, his hands briefly touch the scrum cap of his team mate who made the tackle.

At no point does Tizzano put hands on Ryan. He only ever goes for the ball.

No need for frame by frame. The official Sky sports highlights are on YouTube and easy to find. You can play it at 0.25 speed and watch it frame by frame. It start’s around 5.30 on their highlights.

The first technical offence in the passage of play is Ryan not releasing the ball on the deck.

He never lifts the ball because he is illegally cleared out by Morgan who goes off his feet in driving through the ruck and hitting him above the shoulder line.