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Sun 8 Apr 2018 | 02:53
Faf de Klerk massive carry knocks out Danny Cipriani amidst dramatic finish

18
Comments

Sale Sharks pulled off an incredible last ditch win as they scored a try all of ten minutes into injury time to take them ahead of Wasps after a dramatic finale. Just before that , scrumhalf Faf de Klerk took it upon himself to attack the line. 

And attack it he did, as the nuggety Springbok charged into halfbacks Dan Robson and Danny Cipriani, causing one of the most brutal looking collisions we've seen all season. 

With De Klerk threatening so close to the tryline, both Robson and Cipriani went high, causing a Bok sandwich that the man in the middle came out the better of. 

Cipriani was clearly knocked out cold, while Robson also left the field after a few minutes of attention. De Klerk himself got a shiner that kept getting bigger as the camera focussed on him up.

Cipriani has since given an update via twitter, reassuring fans that he is now okay. 

Robson also said he was doing okay, despite feeling the knock the next day. 

"Few sore teeth this morning, thankfully had my gum shield in. Will be back fighting to make up for last nights result. Thanks for all the messages and travelling support”

Wasps defended for all their worth at the AJ Bell, but in the 91st minute, Marland Yarde went over in the corner for the winning score, giving Sale Sharks a 28-27 victory. 

Watch the match highlights below

credit: premiershiprugby/croseycompsrugby

Posted By: Grant Constable

18 Comments

  • im1
    3:09 PM 12/04/2018

    that is a great question.

    technically I can't see how the right decision was not to end the game then as can't see anything in here that says time is not up if there has been a stoppage for an injury

    http://laws.worldrugby.org/?law=5

    clearly though, the game should be allowed to restart

  • slc001
    3:35 PM 11/04/2018

    Glad everyone appears to be OK.
    The referee rightly stops the game just seconds after 80 minutes because of a head injury. On what lawful basis was he allowed to restart it as time is up? Just a thought? Sale would say right call, Wasps wrong call. Intriguing.

  • drg
    9:55 PM 10/04/2018

    Yes... something obscenely reckless about putting one boot in front of another... Health and safety gone mad I guess..

  • im1
    8:51 AM 10/04/2018

    totally agree with you.

    Its World Rugby's inconsistency/application of laws/guidelines by referees that annoys me. I would say that leading with a forearm is at least as, if not more dangerous than tackling someone in the air, but the way they are punished is very different.


    Saying that, looking at it again, I think its the head clash that causes the knock out, so the forearm is irrelevant! But I'm sure it will happen again.

  • 7:22 AM 10/04/2018

    Yupp, in his recommendation to the referee the TMO made it very clear that the player definitely didn't know about the player on the ground and that it was unintentional but still reckless.

    Might as well close the door and switch off the lights if this is the direction rugby is going in.

  • mise
    1:34 AM 10/04/2018

    Yes that seemed ore a cause for concern than an enjoyable (to watch) big hit!

  • drg
    10:47 PM 09/04/2018

    "but the TMO still saw fit to give him a yellow card for 'accidental foul play.' "

    What a horrendous crock of shite! Not what you wrote, but that decision based on the (what I'd hope is an accurate) description you gave..

  • dancarter
    3:12 PM 09/04/2018

    I love seeing big hits but I was watching this match live and I found this part genuinely uncomfortable to watch. I'm glad all 3 players seem to be okay.

  • 1:11 PM 09/04/2018

    True. But why are there so many inconsistencies with referees and TMOs? Last weekend during the Stormers/Bulls match a Bulls player failed to immediately sack a Stormers lineout maul and ended up on the ground under the maul. With the maul moving forward PS du Toit accidentally stamped on the Bulls player's head. Replays showed that there was no way for du Toit to know of the player beneath him but the TMO still saw fit to give him a yellow card for 'accidental foul play.'

    Now, I'm not saying this could have been a yellow as well, but you'd think, with World Rugby so hell bent on player safety, the TMO would have at least had a second look at it.

  • jimmy23
    11:42 AM 09/04/2018

    Also Faf's head must have a football helmet inbuilt into his head.

  • jimmy23
    11:41 AM 09/04/2018

    A "rugby incident", as they say imo. No need to make out like there's more to it.

  • pgrugby
    9:21 AM 09/04/2018

    im1 agreed. Sorry, I didn't explain myself that well. I meant you start my making contact with the hand with a bent arm. As the force of the impact collapses your arm you then absorb the energy and push with the forearm versus just striking with the forearm which would not be okay.

    0:47 of this video is definitely over the top, but what I meant by initial contact with hand and then rolling into contact with the forearm:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQPjTnc-utw

    Whereas this would be a forearm smash and defitnitely illegal:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgDRmywqKuI

    and of course almost everything is actually somewhere in between the two of those and the refs have decide in a split second whether it was a fine fend off or not...

  • andinov
    7:54 AM 09/04/2018

    Also a good example of how to hand players off using your elbows!

  • im1
    7:42 AM 09/04/2018

    I agree on the difference i.e. de Klerk did not lead with the elbow, but I don't see why leading with the forearm is allowed. The law says that a ball-carrier is permitted to hand off an opponent provided excessive force is not used. Using the forearm is not using the hand. And this proves how dangerous the forearm can be.

    Whether anyone agrees or disagrees with that, surely allowing this is at least inconsistent with World Rugby's approach to head injuries and high tackles?

  • pgrugby
    3:13 AM 09/04/2018

    It looked to me like he was trying to go for a fend - i.e. lead with the right hand into Cipriani's shoulder with a bent arm. Then as it went wrong the arm collapsed and he hit him with the forearm and then elbow.

    Pretty sure the fend with a bent arm is fine, versus leading with an elbow where you have a bent arm where your hand is back towards you and just the elbow is out in front.

    This would definitely be a leading elbow:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8vQbqoi4Sk

  • heavyhooker
    1:34 AM 09/04/2018

    And this boys and girls are two examples of how not to tackle in rugby.

  • reality
    8:55 PM 08/04/2018

    Yeah, i thought you were allowed to lead with the ball-carrying arm but not the other one. Although i'm not sure.

  • 7:17 PM 08/04/2018

    Leading with the elbow?

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