Warren Gatland says Andrew Porter needs ‘kick up backside’ after flashpoint tackle

Patrick McCarry

“Potentially, that could have been a costly yellow card.”

Andrew Porter stepped up with another big game for Ireland, as they beat Wales 34-10, but he will need to address some reckless moments that put his side on the back-foot for a while. Warren Gatland was certainly not impressed with one flashpoint tackle.

At the start of the second half, trailing 27-3, Wales knew they needed the first score to try and make a fist of it against an impressive Ireland side. With Wales surging forward, Porter managed to concede three penalties in the space of five minutes. The last of that trio was when he crashed into Liam Williams, a couple of beats after he had dived over to score a try.

The incident [from 0:25 below] was followed by a melee as Porter went in on Williams. The tackle was a case of too-much-too-late but the Welsh players – fired up after getting back into the game – saw red and a melee broke out.

𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌𝐒 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Wales get just the start they were looking for in this second half!#WALvIRE | #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/EKOIXm7UgB

— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 4, 2023

Warren Gatland on Andrew Porter

Referee Karl Dickson ended up penalising Andrew Porter for his tackle on Liam Williams after he had grounded the ball. It meant Wales got possession back and could kick for touch, from the halfway line, on the restart.

It put Ireland on the defensive again and the Welsh siege was not lifted for another few minutes when Caelan Doris made a vital turnover inside the Ireland 22 that effectively ended the comeback.

Asked about the Porter incident, after the game, Wales boss Warren Gatland was critical of the Ireland loosehead. He commented:

“I’m not sure Andrew Porter needed to do that because he was clearly scoring the try.

“With Porter, if I was his coach I would give him a kick up the backside, he had a great tackle on the line to hold up Jac Morgan. He probably needs a reminder that potentially that could have been a costly yellow card in a big game.”

Porter ended up conceding four penalties in the game but he had a positive impact in the loose, held up Jac Morgan when a first half try looked likely and he scrummaged well. The Leinster prop is likely to retain his No.1 jersey for next weekend’s visit of France.