New Zealand refs still in dark ages as All Black only yellowed for horror tackle
One of the worst tackles of the year was produced on Sunday in New Zealand in the Bunnings NPC, with six-cap All Black Asafo Aumua being the perpetrator.
The match was Wellington vs Taranaki, where Wellington's hooker Aumua simply tried to decapitate Taranaki's Daniel Waite with his shoulder, and came pretty close. The only thing that was worse than the tackle though was the decision to only yellow card him.
There will be those that say Waite had dropped his height, which is a mitigating factor. On the other hand, he had already passed the ball, and was more or less stationary at that point, meaning there was absolutely no need to Aumua to tackle with that force and as recklessly as he did. On top of that, there was no attempt to wrap the arm whatsoever.
It was a red card plain and simple, and the fact that only a yellow was shown once again brings into question the standard of refereeing in New Zealand and their leniency. This will surely be upgraded to a red card in the week, and a lengthy ban might follow, but that obviously is not enough to stop players producing tackles like that.
Take a look at the tackle:
Wellington XV
15 C. Garden-Bachop
14 J. Savea
13 B. Proctor
12 P. Umaga-Jensen
11 N. Milner-Skudder
10 A. Morgan
9 T. Perenara
8 P. Lakai
7 D. Kirifi
6 T. Plumtree
5 C. Delany
4 J. Blackwell
3 P. Cowan
2 A. Aumua
1 X. Numia
Replacements
16 J. O'Reilly
17 S. Sakalia
18 P. Sheck
19 J. To'omaga
20 K. Whitman
21 R. Judd
22 R. Love
23 R. Higgins
Taranaki XV
15 A. Lenox
14 M. Grindlay
13 D. Rona
12 T. Walden
11 V. Tikoisolomone
10 J. Potroz
9 L. Crowley
8 P. Sowakula
7 M. Loft
6 K. Boshier
5 M. Brown
4 J. Parete
3 D. Brighouse
2 R. Riccitelli
1 J. Proffit
Replacements
16 B. Slater
17 M. O'Neill
18 K. Stewart
19 H. Cunningham
20 S. Jury
21 L. Blyde
22 D. Waite
23 K. Naholo