'I'm stunned': Disbelief over Wallabies flanker's massive ban
Wallabies rising star Lachie Swinton’s aggressive approach in the Tri-Nations game cost his team a red card and now it seems it could cost him a stint on the sidelines.
The Aussies bounced back from their trouncing in Sydney a week ago to down the All Blacks 24-22 in a chaotic match that featured two red cards and two yellow cards.
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Swinton left referee Nic Berry no choice but to produce a red card - which All Blacks star Ofa Tu'ungafasi received earlier - after he collected Sam Whitelock without using his arms in the tackle.
Their departures changed the dynamic of the contest, with Australia controlling the chaos better to escape with a narrow win in a series already secured by the visitors.
The send-offs sparked heated debate about the lack of wiggle room in the law, which suggests contact with the head should result in a red card.
At the time, Fox Sports commentators Justin Harrison and Phil Kearns were both highly critical of the rulings.
But rugby’s governing body has handed Swinton a four-week ban, which will see him ruled out of the remaining two matches with Argentina in the Tri-Nations.
Shocked reaction to Swinton’s controversial ban
NRL legend Laurie Daley weighed-in on the controversy and was “stunned” at the harsh punishment.
“I’m stunned,” NRL great Laurie Daley said on Big Sports Breakfast.
“You’d think a send-off would be sufficient or just one week.”
Host Gerrard Middleton said the strict restrictions in place could be a way to protect players and avoid any potential legal action against concussions down the line.
But agreed with Daley that unfortunately head knocks were a part of rugby and the game risked fans turning away from the spectacle.
“When you play rugby league or rugby union you know accidentally you’re going to cop a knock to the head at some stage,” Daley added.
“It’s a contact sport for goodness sake,” Middleton said.
“Do you want people to walk away from the sport?”
All Blacks to work on tackling discipline
All Blacks hooker Dane Coles said the team has rallied around Tu'ungafasi, but agreed the team need to work on completely stamping it out of their game.
“He is a big lad, but we’ve just got to be better,”
“We do a lot of tacking practice during the week and it’s only a split second to make that decision, but we’ve just got to, I suppose, lower our sights and our target and not give those red cards again.
“Because us tackling the same way isn’t going to change things, so we need to be better and adapt.”
The All Blacks’ most recent high-profile send off was when Sonny Bill Williams copped a red card against the British Lions in their three-Test Series.
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