1
Savea, punch or no punch?
By Online Editors
The Highlanders 30-14 win over the Hurricanes swung on a pivotal moment at the end of the first half, when the Hurricanes were denied a try under the posts to Jordie Barrett due to potential foul play.
Holding a 5-3 lead, the try was called back due to an alleged punch by Hurricanes winger Julian Savea who took exception to a swinging arm by Liam Squire on the previous phase. Squire was sent off for the incident but Savea escaped punishment due to the 'lack of footage' of the punch.
The Highlanders received a penalty and subsequently scored a crucial try to take the lead heading into the half. In a puzzling series of events, Squire now faces the possibility of being suspended for the upcoming June tests against France while fans are left questioning how Savea escaped punishment.
Despite claiming no video evidence, the high shots and even some close-ups clearly show Savea clocking back a fist and thrusting it into the ruck. Whether he connected or not is unknown but it seems clear a punch was thrown.
World Rugby Law 10.4 states that "a player must not strike an opponent with the fist or arm," resulting in the sanction of a penalty kick. It looks as though Savea not only contravened this part of the law, he also broke the law in regards to retaliation.
This law states "a player must not retaliate. Even if an opponent is infringing the Laws, a player must not do anything that is dangerous to the opponent."
Interim Highlanders coach Mark Hammett concurred that the connection from Savea's thrown punch wasn't clear.
"It was difficult to see whether the shot was high, and there was no clear evidence of any of the shots we saw that [Savea] threw a punch. It looked like he threw a punch, but there was no evidence of a hit.
"I think probably in the end it was the right decision."
We will have to wait and see if the citing commissioner agrees with Hammett.
In other news:
Trending on RugbyPass
2
All Blacks XV player ratings vs Munster
3
Suaalii strikes awe as Wallabies lose midfielder
4
Scott Robertson responds about handling errors
5
Latest Comments
Ireland have every right to back themselves for a win. But the key variable has little to do with recent record etc.
The reality is that Ireland are a settled team with tons of continuity, an established style, and a good depth chart, whereas NZ are fundamentally rebuilding. The questions are all about what Razor is doing and how far along he is in that program.
NZ are very close to really clicking. Against England all of the chatter is about how England could have closed out a win, but failed to do so. This has obscured the observation that NZ were by far the more creative and effective in attack, beyond the 3-1 try differential and disallowed tries. They gave away a lot of unnecessary penalties, and made many simple errors (including knock-ons and loose kicks). Those things are very fixable, and when they do so we are once again going to be staring at a formidable NZ team.
Last week we heard the England fans talking confidently about their chances against NZ, but England did not end up looking like the better team on the field or the scoreboard. The England defense was impressive enough, but still could not stop the tries.
Ireland certainly has a better chance, of course, but NZ is improving fast, and I would not be surprised at a convincing All Black win this week. It may turn on whether NZ can cut out the simple mistakes.
Go to commentsFair to say that NZ have come to respect Ireland, as have all teams. But it's a bit click-baitey to say that the game is the premier show-down for NZ.
SA has beaten NZ four times in a row, including in the RWC final.
Go to comments