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Mon 22 Feb 2016 | 10:26
Manu Tuilagi penalised for big shoulder on Winston Stanley

13
Comments

Manu Tuilagi made a return to action for Leicester Tigers this past weekend, following time out with a hamstring injury. He partnered Premiership debutant Jean de Villiers, but all eyes were on the Samoan born powerhouse, who made a big impact early in the second half.

He flew into Winston Stanley, knocking him into touch but catching the eye of referee JP Doyle, who reacted to the jeers of the crowd and what appeared to be a shoulder charge, or push.

Replays showed that Tuilagi had an arm wrapped, but Doyle penalised him regardless, much to the disdain of the commentary team, with Austin Healey in particular calling it a terrible decision.

Tuilagi and former Springbok skipper De Villiers actually had a great battle when they faced one another at Test level in Durban in 2012, so it was nice to see them teamed up on this occasion.

Other than the tackle and some decent carries, one of which led to a try, Tuilagi played another significant part in this match later on, losing the ball in contact.

It resulted in a crucial try for Quins, who went on to win the game 25-19. You can watch full highlights of the match below the penalty incident video.

What is your take on the Tuilagi tackle?

Posted By: Grant Constable

13 Comments

  • drg
    6:02 PM 23/02/2016

    Hahaha. I do agree, I'm not a fan of the auto playing adverts especially as they command so much of my elderly laptop... what was a fast loading page now becomes more and more slow :(

  • gonzoman
    2:21 PM 23/02/2016

    im: there's nothing wrong with a bit of pushing - however, you'd be hard pressed to argue that Tuilagi didn't "knock down" Stanley...

    The law doesn't say you can't push; it DOES say you can't knock someone down without trying to hold on to them.

  • stroudos
    1:46 PM 23/02/2016

    I'm always a fan of free content, especially the good quality free content that we're accustomed to being treated to on here. (Having said that, I find I am sitting through bigger and more imposing adverts, many of which are in video format and start playing loud audio without being clicked).

    The more important point here is to spare a thought for all those young students of the game, eagerly anticipating the next round of rugby insights. I can picture them now, hundreds of them, breathless, beads of sweat dripping down their foreheads as they frantically refresh the rugbydump homepage, thinking "I wonder what stroudos and DrG will have to say about that Brits punch???"

  • colombes
    12:37 AM 23/02/2016

    Maybe a shoulder bump... but this penalty is very harsh.
    But if it can teach young lads to tackle hard and fair rather to behave with disdain, ok.

  • drg
    12:33 AM 23/02/2016

    Now you mention it, that is something that's strange about the incident.. I had seen it but not noticed it at the time...

    thumbs up for you my g(ood)onzoman!

  • drg
    12:32 AM 23/02/2016

    Ditto, searched for it, but unable to find it on the interweb. Hoping RD stops tanning under the sunbed and starts fishing out these videos... Come on RD, it's old news, it happened over 2-3 days ago... I didn't not pay any subscription to this website to wait around for days for these videos!!!

  • stroudos
    11:43 PM 22/02/2016

    Not too much to see here.

    I'm more keen to find out more about - and see again - the Schalk Brits punch. I read that Brits claimed he was defending himself against a dangerous clear-out which he felt was putting him at risk of busting his knee again. I didn't really see enough on the ITV highlights the other night, will be interesting to see again in slow motion etc..

  • luc
    9:59 PM 22/02/2016

    I totally agree with you. Plus the call's been made partly by the touch judge, who is at the side of the attempted wrapped arm and he still doesn't hesitate. You can hear the conversation behind the commentators during the first replay, roughly at 0:32-0:47.

  • gonzoman
    7:11 PM 22/02/2016

    I think JP Doyle made a good call here. Let's look at the law book, then I'll offer an interpretation of the spirit of the law (not just the letter thereof).

    There is no reference to "shoulder charge" in the law book, so whether or not contact was made with the shoulder or the chest is irrelevant. The law that applies is 10.4 (g):

    "Dangerous charging. A player must not charge or knock down an opponent carrying the ball without trying to grasp that player."

    If you look at the video, you'll notice Tuilagi wraps (more or less) with his arm. "Aha," you say, "he's attempted to grasp the player!"; however, in watching the video you can also clearly see him pushing Stanley with his left arm.

    I ask you this: last time you tried to grasp something, did you also push that thing away from you? No. The two actions are opposed to each other. I strongly suspect that Tuilagi REALLY wanted to smash Stanley into touch; he realized that if he were to barge in and give him an almighty shove, he'd be penalized - instead, he throws his right arm up in a half-hearted attempt to wrap in order to cover up the push he is simultaneously administering with his left arm and chest.

    Whether JP Doyle saw that and made the call or whether he just accidentally got the call right, the spirit of the law has been upheld.

  • drg
    5:29 PM 22/02/2016

    Happy with a penalty for such an awful technique of a tackle....

    But to be fair to the guy, did his job and got Stanley into touch. AND legally... so it's a bit harsh..

  • danknapp
    4:54 PM 22/02/2016

    He had one arm around him, not really a shoulder charger. You are, last time I checked, allowed to use your shoulder when you tackle someone as long as an attempt to wrap takes place.

    Bit clumsy from him, though, he could have got his left around around more and really demolished him.

  • 3:20 PM 22/02/2016

    Definitely not a shoulder charge. Seems fine to me.

  • facepalm
    12:24 PM 22/02/2016

    Pushes are legal, are they not?

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