Nigel Owens has an interesting take on the Darcy Swain incident
Retired referee turned pundit Nigel Owens has suggested that Darcy Swain's illegal knee-busting clearout on All Blacks' centre Quinn Tupaea isn't as clean cut as some might think.
Swain is in the dock over the incident in the Bledisloe Cup match held at Marvel Stadium over the weekend, with many believing that he was extremely lucky to avoid a red card for the hit.
The Wallabies second row made contact with the knee and was penalised by Mathieu Raynal for deliberately targeting the leg after TMO Ben Whitehouse drew the Frenchman's attention to it. Tupaea hobbled off the field in extreme discomfort and it has now been revealed that his knee has been severely damaged by the impact.
The All Black midfielder will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a ruptured medial cruciate ligament (MCL) as well as a partial anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in his left knee.
After the match All Blacks head coach Ian Foster was fuming, saying: "We’ve got a big issue with it (the play by Swain), we’ve got a player who’s probably going to be out for nine months.”
“You’re not allowed to target legs on the side and clean out past the ball. The rules are pretty clear.”
Swain has been cited and will go before a disciplinary panel on Monday. The 25-year-old has also made his Instagram account private after he copped a shedload of abuse on the social media platform as a result of the contentious clearout.
Refereeing royalty Owens urged caution with the incident, pointing out that decisions shouldn't necessarily be made on the basis of the outcome alone.
He told Fox Sports' Christy Doran in Australia that: "Forgot the outcome of this, it is a careless clear-out and it could warrant a red card in itself and whether he deliberately targets that area, he does target that area which is something World Rugby have asked referees to clamp down on, and this could well warrant a red card,” Owens told foxsports.com.au.
“It is a tricky one, there will be a lot of arguments that a yellow card is sufficient.
“There’ll also be justified arguments that a red card would be justified as well, particularly on the outcome of it. But you’ve got to be very careful that you’re not always basing your decisions on an outcome.”
Swain is likely to face a significant amount of time on the sidelines, come what may. The 6'7, 113kg forward had just returned from a ban for an attempted headbutt on England's Johnny Hill in July and it could be a case of one-and-done for the young man.
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In the fine tradition of Irish rugby, Leinster cheat well and for some reason only known to whoever referees them, they are allowed to get away with it every single game. If teams have not got the physicality up front to stop them getting the ball, they will win every single game. They take out players beyond the ruck and often hold them on the ground. Those that are beyond the ruck and therefore offside, hover there to cause distraction but also to join the next ruck from the side thereby stopping the jackal. The lineout prior to the second try on Saturday. 3 Leinster players left the lineout before the ball was thrown and were driving the maul as soon as the player hit the ground and thereby getting that valuable momentum. They scrummage illegally, with the looshead turning in to stop the opposing tighthead from pushing straight and making it uncomfortable for the hooker. The tighthead takes a step and tries to get his opposite loosehead to drop the bind. Flankers often ‘move up’ and actually bind on the prop and not remain bound to the second row. It does cause chaos and is done quickly and efficiently so that referees are blinded by the illegal tactics. I am surprised opposition coaches when they meet referees before games don’t mention it. I am also surprised that they do not go to the referees group and ask them to look at the tactics used and referee them properly. If they are the better team and win, fair play but a lot of their momentum is gained illegally and therefore it is not a level playing field.
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