Billy V was not at all happy with this.
Rugby players are inundated with match clips and personal game highlights – in a bid to improve and prepare themselves. One wonders if video analysts bothered sending around the tackle that got Jerome Kaino five-week ban, on Wednesday.
The All Blacks flanker was only yellow-carded, while playing for Toulose, when his driving shoulder connected with the head of Jamie Roberts and forced the Bath centre off.
Kaino was cited, post-match, for the stand-up smash and copped a five-week ban for striking with the shoulder.
Days later and both Billy Twelvetrees and Danny Cipriani unfurled similar hits against Munster. Cipriani got a straight red for his bosh on Rory Scannell while Twelvetrees was lucky to avoid the same fate.
With Munster leading 5-3 after 28 minutes, Cipriani stood straight up and his shoulder bounced off Scannell, the ball-carrier. Each hit looked worse on the replays and the England outhalf was given his marching orders.
Danny Cipriani has been sent off 🔴
He knew straight away he was going to be shown red for this tackle.
He apologised on his way off but his week has gone from bad to worse… pic.twitter.com/XGga2MHz2P
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) October 20, 2018
Cipriani had no complaints and jogged off, but plenty of rugby fans – many ignorant of World Rugby trying to clamp down on head high hits – waded in against the call on social media.
Two ridiculous red cards in early matches of #heinekenchampionscup. Munster guy ran into the shoulder of Cipriani, expect him to vanish into thin air? Castres guy just standing up to the dummy runner who runs right into him and their height difference means head hits shoulder.
— Francis Batchelor (@FWBatchelor) October 20, 2018
I am anything but a Gloucester fan but what a joke of a red card for Cipriani, the officiating gets worse by the day, what is happening to rugby…
— Guy Tasker (@guytasker28) October 20, 2018
If Cipriani initiates that contact then red is fair, but it looks to me like he's standing off and the Munster player runs into him #glawsfamily #MUNvGLO
— Astie Bolton (@AstieBolton) October 20, 2018
Anyone that thinks that cipriani red was the correct decision has clearly never found themselves in a rugby defensive line… cipriani is a passenger in that scenario and has merely stood there as a head comes flying into his shoulder
— Duncs🏴🏴 (@duncanyuile1) October 20, 2018
Saracens and England No.8 Billy Vunipola – a player who has broken his arm three times in 12 months – wants rugby officials to let hits like Cipriani’s slide.
Moments after Cipriani saw red, Vunipola was on social media bemoaning the call.
https://twitter.com/bvunipola/status/1053626141058195458
Twelvetrees was then lucky to escape with a scolding after flattening Carbery with a high shoulder:
Not sure the #Cipriani #tackle (red card) was much worse than the Twelvetrees tackle (penalty) 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️ #rugby #munster #gloucester #redcard
— Darren Cave (@darrencave13) October 20, 2018
Vunipola, and other rugby pros – past and present – complaining about World Rugby’s new diktat would be best advised to look at the statistics that comprehensively prove that these high hits are causing serious injuries and leading to increased instances of concussion.
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