Thu 22 Sep 2016 | 11:33
Quade Cooper sinbinned for off the ball shoulder on Nicolas Sanchez

26
Comments

Mercurial Australian flyhalf Quade Cooper was yellow-carded in Saturday's clash against Argentina, as it was deemed his shoulder charge on Nicolas Sanchez was illegal, with neither arms nor ball in the tackle.

It looked as if Sanchez was preparing to recieve a pass when prop Enrique Pieretto stepped in front and took it himself. Cooper likely also expected Sanchez to recieve the pass so followed through with the hit, albeit in an illegal and potentially dangerous way.

Referee Wayne Barnes gave a yellow card for no arms and no ball in the tackle. Also, credit Nigel Owens for being well-positioned to initially see the hit. 

On the other side of things, Sanchez has a bit of a reputation for play-acting, regularly going to ground as if he's been snipered from the crowd, so it quite likely made the hit look even worse.

In fact it's not the first incident that he has had with the Wallabies. In July, 2015, Michael Hooper was found guilty of punching him and suspended for one game as a result.

Over the last few matches, playmaker Cooper has actually enjoyed a return to form. He was included in Fox Sports Lab's Rugby Championship team of the week at flyhalf and he credits his stint at Toulon for giving him a "reference point" to become a better all-around player.

Do you think the yellow card was harsh, spot on, or should it have possibly been red?

credit: Rugby XV

26 Comments

  • stantheman
    4:13 PM 05/10/2016

    You all are talking shit. Sanchez is NOT that kind of player, how many matches have you seen? You clearly know nothing and like saying bullshit. Sanchez is one of the players that gets hit a lot, really a lot. And keeps playing, against SA got a headbutt by Etzebeth, unlucky one and nothign happen neither he complained..next match hit against etzebeth again and had to leave the match due to traumatisim..again unlucky strike no bad intention and no complains on his side.

  • drg
    11:27 PM 28/09/2016

    haha. it wasn't a top incidents list, just a few of my pet hate incidents!

  • luc
    10:55 PM 27/09/2016

    Come on, talking slaps after holding on and the Troncon-Stringer incident doesn't make it into your top 2?!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8gtJplET4I

  • drg
    5:25 PM 27/09/2016

    Err....

    Does it have anything to do with any sort of actions that tend to occur when any Wendy ball teams such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, South American play?

    I wouldn't suggest that just because one is born in any 'passionate' country that they are automatically a diving cheat in any kind of sport... however stereotypes whether right or wrong have a habit of coming from some form of truth...

    Why are English "rosbifs"? Why are French 'frogs'? etc... things stem from commonalities... Claiming there is any 'auto prejudice' in the world, is as obvious as stating the sky is blue, however it takes a fool to be automatically prejudice in anything other than a 50-50 situation or less!

    I generally base things on form, if a player has form then as my dear RD friend Stroudos said, they lose credibility and be it on their own heads that next time they get f'd up, I might not look at it so sympathetically.

    You cry wolf, then don't expect sympathy when he turns up and bites a lump out your backside!

  • drg
    5:15 PM 27/09/2016

    Oh don't get me started on players holding on!!!!!!!!!!!!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHnnZkho5TM
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O8s5J9yjxg
    www.rugbydump.com/2008/02/349/nathan-hines-swinging-arm-on-lee-byrne

    tut tut tut...

    Now I'm in a mood about it!

  • stroudos
    2:19 PM 26/09/2016

    Oh yes, I remember that. Wonderful moment.
    In both cases, (Chabal and Hooper), we see a cheating bastard trying to illegally hold a player back, preventing that player from getting on with his game. And in both cases summary justice is served.

  • oliver
    8:42 AM 26/09/2016

    well let's just say some bitch slaps can be pretty effective......
    remember this?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_We6U2yQutg

    oh and please don't mention the Huget dive again, I've been trying very hard to forget it ever happened!!

  • oliver
    8:30 AM 26/09/2016

    Anglo prejudice towards latinos is real... But that kind of socio-philosophical debate can go on even longer than our usual RD-nonsense so I'll leave it at that!

  • stroudos
    7:01 AM 26/09/2016

    Ah but one incident *does* establish an irreversible reputation in the eyes of a petty, judgemantal arsehole like my good self. I don't care how cleanly they act in 99.99% of the time, I will never forgive Heinrich Brussow (v Paul Williams) and Yoann Huget (v Bath) for their despicable "simulation" efforts. Even Barack Habana, a player I admire, has sacrificed a number of Stroudos Points by rolling about on the floor more than I deem acceptable.

    On the Hooper/Sanchez incident, I'm not saying I'd like to be on the receiving end but it was more of a "bitch-slap" than a solid strike, in my opinion.

  • dancarter
    3:13 PM 25/09/2016

    This is probably the only tackle he's made in the rugby championship so far.

  • danknapp
    2:31 PM 25/09/2016

    "If you're judging solely on the fact he's Argentinean, it's just plain racist."

    Xenophobic, actually, but still no. He just hits the group and lies there as if he's out cold, yet magically he isn't. Looks like he's milked it.

  • drg
    3:46 PM 24/09/2016

    I know!!! Even I had had my fill, comments like these just bring about painful revivals and almost set me on a roll again....

  • joeythelemur
    4:10 AM 24/09/2016

    Ooooh, we were so close to having a comment thread that *doesn't* actually include an offhand insult to New Zealand! Top kek for doing it on a clip that had nothing to do with them too; very impressive.

    Oh well, just keep trying I guess. ;-)

  • oliver
    4:08 PM 23/09/2016

    I don't agree..........one incident does not establish a "reputation".

    Also that was a solid strike by Hooper to the back of the head, that would have shook any scrum half pretty much. Not comparable at all to the OF late tackle.

    (boy am I glad to be arguing about something as a neutral finally!)

  • vladimir
    1:33 PM 23/09/2016

    At first, I thought the same. But I am not that sure about the head snapping anymore. He is quite rigid, his head does not rotate from the force of the impact, but slightly before as a reflex to soften the impact. Does not seems like he got knocked out like his fall and the medical staff around him imply : grinning, head still high, hand to the cheek, the other hand to the ground, perfectly coordinated. More and more sceptical about his honesty in this one.
    Perhaps, he got hit hard (every contact is hard at this level), but added a lot in the process.

  • stroudos
    11:45 AM 23/09/2016

    Totally agree.

    Frustrating as hell in the UK, where an English commentator is pilloried if he has the temerity to show support for England.

  • stroudos
    11:40 AM 23/09/2016

    Mr Dump already provided your proof that Sanchez is exactly that sort of player in the write-up above - http://www.rugbydump.com/2015/07/4466/michael-hooper-suspended-for-one-week-for-striking-nicolas-sanchez.

    I agree that it was a bit of a cheap shot by Cooper, but not that bad and Sanchez most definitely milked it. The milking was really just to draw the ref's attention to the incident. I have to say I prefer Owen Farrell's far more honest (and more virile for that matter!) approach to doing that - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwN9PkCpskA.

  • oliver
    9:22 AM 23/09/2016

    I honestly cannot believe people are saying this is 'milking it' and 'playacting'. You can actually see Sanchez' head snapping backwards because of the contact with QC's shoulder.

    If you're judging solely on the fact he's Argentinean, it's just plain racist.

  • drg
    11:13 PM 22/09/2016

    I think the yellow was harsh, given Sanchez contact with the ball.. but yellow can happen as seen.

    I'm not sure Sanchez was clearly diving... Had he thrown his hands up then I'd yellow him, but I can't see his face clashing. So if it did then I don't blame him for going down....

  • iluvyomumma
    10:20 PM 22/09/2016

    I remember seeing this in real time and thinking it was dirty and my opinion hasn't changed. I've jus watched the actual hit 7/8 times on repeat and you can see the moment Cooper realises that the pass isn't gonna get made. You can see half a step of pace come off cooper before he decides he might as well hit the bloke anyway. Regardless of the contact that was actually made, that is still a cheap shot.

    And to everyone saying Sanchez milked it: 1. He isn't that sort of player (I don't think, happy to be proved wrong though) 2. he obviously didn't see it coming as he was looking at the ball which will always make it look worse. The shock factor doesn't help in these situations. Fair all round from me.

    I love Cooper but my god he frustrates me. If he sorted his head out and confidence out and got back to where he was a few years ago.....

  • heavyhooker
    8:33 PM 22/09/2016

    Bollocks. I'm sorry WB, that is not a tackle. OK, maybe Quade gave a little bit of rough push, but if that sort of contact is classified as tackling then Wayne needs to go back to ref school. Cooper looks to be checking his tackle and probably just gave a bit of a contact to Nic. If Nicolas is going down with this sort of contact then I say go back into the gym and become part of the practice squad to develop some tackle stamina.

    Warning to Quade. Yellow to Nicolas for diving.

  • danknapp
    5:26 PM 22/09/2016

    Ingredients:
    - 1 slightly late tackle
    - 2 players

    Pop in the sin-bin for 10 minutes and you're done. Remove when yellow.

    With the Nicolas Sanchez Rugby Cookbook, you can make a meal out of anything!

    Mwah!

  • pire
    4:18 PM 22/09/2016

    The two players touched the ball simultaneously. If player 1 did not collect the ball, player 2 would have...Fair challenge by Cooper and he did pull out. The acting that followed is nothing new in the Argentinian camp. Must be something they picked up from their football colleagues.

  • tphillipsstl
    4:06 PM 22/09/2016

    There's no place for this in rugby, and by "this" I mean throwing yourself on the ground like you've been shot when someone bumps into you.

  • tphillipsstl
    4:05 PM 22/09/2016

    you're kidding right. He clearly had a hand around his back. That was a terrible decision. Should have been a yellow to the diving player. As Nigel Owens said, this is not soccer.

  • stroudos
    2:12 PM 22/09/2016

    But I was committed sir! (Committed to smashing the bloke in the face).


    Got to love the one-eyed Aussie commentary on this - is it Phil Kearns?
    "Just looked like nothing really, than a head clash"
    "Well his arms were low. His arms were round the waist. [sees replay, showing nothing remotely resembling this]. One around his back, one around the waist."