1
Watch: Jerome Kaino blindsides Higginbotham with concrete shoulder
By Sam Smith
Jerome Kaino escaped on-field sanction for a brutal flying shoulder into Higginbotham's spine during his final home game for the Blues at Eden Park, but minutes later Taniela Tupou was less lucky. The young man know as Tongan Thor went in for a classic grasscutter, taking out two blokes in one fell swoop, but was pulled up by the TMO and binned for a dangerous no-arms tackle.
Could this be the ellusive evidence of referee bias towards NZ teams that folks have been braying about? Could this be a case of referees turning a blind eye during the big occasion? Jerome Kaino, a great All Black, a world cup winner, will always be remembered for the hardness of his shoulder, but this parting impact tarnishes that legacy somewhat.
After watching the two incidents side by side and considering the danger of each act, it's hard to justify the disparity of the on-field judgements.
Whilst commentator Andrew Mehrtens highlights the danger to knees and ankles following Tupou's no-arms tackle, surely the greater concern should be for Scott Higginbotham's spine? The big Red was totally blindsided by what can only be described as a very cheap shot.
CONTINUE READING:
'Spinal damage' means Sona Taumalolo will never play rugby again
'My body is actually okay' - Read's recovery from back surgery takes him back to roots
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
Nothing better to do on a Tuesday?
Go to commentsThink we have to accept we have been on the slide for a while now.Still interesting to see the repeated media pieces about the myth of the ABs slipping-I would say slipped past tense.In part don’t we have to give credit for the improvement of other nations particularly Ireland?Isnt that good for the game?Are we beginning to feel the impact of losing the Boks from Super rugby and maybe soon TRC?I would agree we are also ran right now so will be interesting to see how we progress-assuming we do!Isnt that part of sport though to be in improvement mode?Back to the stats though I think the Boks were under 60% leading into 2019?Now with the focus on the RWC does it matter so much what you are doing between tournaments?You just get through your group(remembering the ABs qualified 2nd in 2023)and then you have 3 matches to win the thing.
Go to comments