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Thu 17 Mar 2016 | 11:33
Ma'a Nonu cited for massive no-arms hit on Grenoble scrumhalf

16
Comments

Ma'a Nonu has been cited after he was yellow carded for a tackle that was deemed to be with the shoulder. Nonu has a bit of a history of tackling without using his arms properly, which is surprising for a player of his calibre. The referee seems to have been correct in his decision.

The World Cup winning centre scored a try against Grenoble in Toulon's 38-8 victory, but this no arms tackle on Christophe Lostalot resulted in a sin-binning, and according to reports, broken ribs for the unfortunate scrumhalf on the receiving end of it.

WATCH: Nonu's try, set up by Drew Mitchell

Nonu will have to answer to a LRN disciplinary commitee to plead his innocence.

The Toulon star was recently humiliated by one of the club's under 20 players at a training session, with his teammates letting him know all about it, so perhaps he still had some pent up anger.

credit: boucherie ovalie

Posted By: Grant Constable

16 Comments

  • jonnyenglish
    11:03 AM 21/03/2016

    Would that be the same Tana who illegally speared Brian O'Driscoll into the ground dislocating his shoulder? What a stand up individual he was.

    Oh sorry no, total scumbag, that's what I meant to say.

  • canafrikaaner
    10:33 PM 20/03/2016

    That right arm "wrap" is only a dummy to make it appear as an attempt to wrap. Players do it all the time to sell shoulder charges. He could have easily made a play out of the situation with a hard legal tackle

  • drg
    1:12 AM 19/03/2016

    Hah! I sort of thought it sounded a bit insulting after I'd written it, but honestly I meant it more like, had them professionally interpreted and therefore explained as to where exactly the line is...

    ....but I'm happy for it to be read either way as the guy has shown up a few classless acts over the years.

  • stroudos
    6:08 PM 18/03/2016

    "read the laws, or had them explained to him" - nice insult!

    You reminded me of my dad's advice on hoovering: do a terrible job first time, then you won't be asked again!

  • drg
    5:01 PM 18/03/2016

    I think what Nonu has done here, is read the laws, or had them explained to him and basically done the bare minimum he can to satisfy them...

    It's like when the wife says to hoover the floor and you skim over parts of it, or the more obvious bits of fluff.... technically you've hoovered.... just not well and not the entire floor....

    Nonu feigned and attempt to wrap in the most lackadaisical fashion and it hasn't carried off, although I'd imagine a lawyer will take stills from the video and highlight areas with a big marker where Nonus arm is slightly more forward and justify that as "ladies and gentlemen, an ATTEMPT, to grasp!"

  • eddie-g
    12:09 PM 18/03/2016

    I have seen worse, but to me, he's making no effort to wrap.

  • weltot
    11:11 AM 18/03/2016

    Problem being, he hit him with the left, so that's the arm that should be attempting to wrap.

  • katman
    10:35 AM 18/03/2016

    He does wrap with the right arm? Which video are you watching? This is about as arms-free as it gets.

  • stroudos
    11:36 PM 17/03/2016

    I'm watching this after a few drinks, so maybe I'm going through an alcohol-induced testosterone surge or something, but to me this looks like a legitimate tackle.

    Look, I'm not saying I'd enjoy wearing one of those myself, but Nonu here got quite a low body position, hit the bloke in the midriff and made a reasonable attempt to get an arm or two around the bloke. *Attempt* to grasp is all that's required.

    What I'm wondering is why the scrummie didn't adopt the standard high ball claiming technique of jumping in the air with your studs pointing in the general direction of any incoming would-be tacklers.

  • sevenseven-7
    10:42 PM 17/03/2016

    He's an All-Black. There's your reason why.

  • weejockmcplop
    10:40 PM 17/03/2016

    A deliberate attempt to injure the player. Utterly unacceptable. Even if he did wrap arms the intent is to effectively hit the player as hard as possible with no consideration for his welfare. It's time rugby sorted this out before someone is seriously injured

  • drg
    9:30 PM 17/03/2016

    +1

  • eddie-g
    6:10 PM 17/03/2016

    "Nonu has a bit of a history of tackling without using his arms properly, which is surprising for a player of his calibre."

    It's not surprising, really. For years, he's been getting slaps on the wrist, so he's never bothered cleaning up his act.

    All the no-arms tackles you list in the related posts? I'd wager a lot that he got at most a week ban after any one incident, and probably none at all on some of them.

    Few players have been as kindly treated by the citing guys as Nonu. Never understood why, his track record ain't good.

  • heavyhooker
    5:06 PM 17/03/2016

    THAT is not a wrap in any sense of the imagination. His arm is pretty much hanging down at a 45 degree angle. He is playing the game on the very edge of legality if this is what is classified as a "wrap".

    The governing body is so intent on playing around with the rules of the game with the scoring and scrums when all they should be doing is making sure that the current laws are adjudicated fairly and properly. This sort of play just makes me think that rugby is just becoming a smash and grab game with skill being slowly taken out.

  • elvis15
    4:49 PM 17/03/2016

    He does wrap with the right arm, but the front view on camera with the left arm not wrapping (combined with the massiveness of the hit) looks really bad. I've seen those half wraps get away in the past so I'd be a little surprised if he gets much on top of the yellow card.

  • heavyhooker
    2:28 PM 17/03/2016

    What the hell is it with these shoulder hits, especially from the SH crew? Why is this a yellow but the similar Tuilangi hit last week was not? This sort of play, where the tackler has all the time in the world to set up for a proper hi,t turns into an NFL type shoulder smash. This is blatant intent and should be cited. Had he hit properly he could have picked up the ball and done something with the play. Instead, he just showed he has had a few too many hits to the head. His righteous indignation after the hit also shows he has no clue.

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