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Wed 15 Feb 2017 | 11:29
Ross Moriarty's thumping late hit on Owen Farrell in Cardiff

43
Comments

Owen Farrell put in another solid Six Nations performance against Wales during England's 21-16 win on Saturday, but early in the second half he was on the receiving end of this huge hit by impressive Welsh number eight, Ross Moriarty. 

The 22-year-old Gloucester forward lined up Farrell and despite the centre getting the ball away in time, Moriarty flew into the tackle, smashing him backwards and winding him in the process.

The referee and his assistants didn't feel it was worth looking at again, although it appeared to be late and we've seen similar tackles dealt with severely in the past.

Farrell was too hurt to retaliate, instead giving a wry smile and getting on with things.

- View Wales vs England Match Highlights

Posted By: Grant Constable

43 Comments

  • jimmy23
    9:22 AM 17/02/2017

    Oh man, I forgot about that hit on Chris Masoe. What a beauty that was.

  • stroudos
    8:06 AM 17/02/2017

    Ah yes, the legend that is Sebastien Chabal. A beautifully illustrated point Colombes. I think my favourite is your first link v Heaslip - never mind the ball-carrier, Chabal puts HIMSELF "past the horizontal" with the sheer force of his tackle!!

  • 10stonenumber10
    2:28 AM 17/02/2017

    Who would have thought that we would be following Owen Farrell's example....

    2016 was such a crap year. Somewhere out there, in 2017, there is a Carlos Spencer/Dan Carter/Sir Wilko/Lord Serevi/Almighty BO'D/Hernandez hybrid just waiting to slot 3,000 international points and retire age 47 with all their teeth intact, and still able to burn the 100 in under 11 seconds.

  • 10stonenumber10
    2:15 AM 17/02/2017

    This is the internet. We are brutal.

    Faz Jnr has always been a quality player. He is the engineer's answer to an artistic dilemma.

    I feel for the guy. Imagine being the son of Great Britain Rugby League's 'ardest captain. He has done 20x better than John Dawes' son, he almost put me off rugby for life.

  • drg
    10:35 PM 16/02/2017

    People (myself included) didn't or don't like Farrell because of the petulant, arrogant image he seemed to portray, but I believe I am near full conversion (especially now as Biggar is well and truly at the world number 1 spot). Time has aged Farrell like a fine wine... he looks far more focused on performing well to let the score and his playing do the talking and still remaining humble...

    Farrell got hit hard, got up, carried on....

    He was asked about it at the end of the game and he could have rightly turned around and said "yeh, what an idiot, he couldn't win the game for them so he resorted to cheap shots!" - if he was so inclined, but instead said "yeh he caught me" (or whatever he actually said!) this is the image of a likeable character. I'm not sure he'd have been quite the same had England lost, but it's nice to see a lack of petulance!

  • drg
    10:30 PM 16/02/2017

    Faletau hasn't looked like a storming 8 for a fair bit of time now....

  • drg
    10:29 PM 16/02/2017

    Hahahaha..... one mans late is my right on time!

  • drg
    10:28 PM 16/02/2017

    Stroudos isn't correct with forwards not dominating forwards, however the point he is trying to make is very much true. The Messam incident he suggested being an exception is what I'd say rather a case and point.... two massive blokes renowned for their impacts not really dominating either one.... Messam got launched, but young Thor also got knocked from his stride... so either way no one got particularly dominated.

    But of course as you said, it can happen, it just so happens that a 20 stone lump hitting a 10 stone bouncy ball sends things careening off into outer space which is much more spectacular than two immovable objects clattering into each other...

  • im1
    7:37 PM 16/02/2017

    And I think a lot of commentators (amateur and professional) have ignored the possible scenario where Faletau had come on and had a storming 30 mins himself to win the game. Then howley would have been called a genius

  • 10stonenumber10
    7:21 PM 16/02/2017

    His song "Happy" went 4x Platinum too.

  • colombes
    7:16 PM 16/02/2017

    I pretty remember one forward who loved to go... forwards

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCsWKA9B7c8
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2psDE3fGDeY
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWmely7KbEE
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Dnbto0pqz4
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8XeZ6HzOlE

    Yeah, that's unfair

  • im1
    3:05 PM 16/02/2017

    You need to get over your issue with Lawes. Any of the examples you can come up with are perfectly legitimate tackles.

  • oliver
    2:58 PM 16/02/2017

    haha.....agreed about Bastareaud!

    As for a forward dominating another forward, just watch any Picamoles highlights vid! He does it all the time, this one being a favorite of mine:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b97UfBrGjCM

    (as for our little political digression, I'm not saying France has the moral high ground either, what with Le Pen pretty much garanteed a slot in the second round of the upcoming presidential elections....)

  • stroudos
    2:35 PM 16/02/2017

    Oliver,
    First up, let me apologise on behalf of my less educated brethren, whose xenophobic ranting is a fucking embarrassment. As an aside, I'm seeing a lot more of this type of xenophobic nonsense since the Brexit arseholes won the referendum - hopefully not a harbinger of the depressing small-minded dystopia that awaits us. That's enough of that little digression.

    Now to your points on the Lawes v Parra incident:
    The difference with a player like Bastareaud for instance, is that Bastareaud looks back to the player he smashed to see if he's allright. Agreed. Not good from Lawes.

    [Bastareaud] actually bumps off players that are his size. Now this one is clearly bullshit. No-one is his size. :)

    You never see Lawes imposing himself on another forward, at least I can't remember it. Because it's not as spectacular. Show me the last time any forward really dominated another forward, Tupou v Messam being the exception that proves the rule. By the way, on your Parra video, about 0:44 where they put Lawes's vital statistics on the screen I was expecting the next shot to feature Parra's.

    the outcome is not the same when he tackles big forwards......... ;-) O'Brien didn't withstand Lawes's tackle by being a big, gnarly forward (although he does fit that description); he evaded the tackle with a cheeky step, which is something you'd more readily associate with little backs.

    DrG's made the case very well below that Parra's injury was very unfortunate, but not a direct consequence of any dangerous play by Lawes.

  • stroudos
    2:16 PM 16/02/2017

    Yeah, very good. By the way, I'm doing a lot more forward shit these days - have finally seen the light and realised that it's a bloody lot less cold...

    But really, Moriarty was so late here, he didn't even mentally commit until after the ball had gone. He was so late he might as well have sent a fax outlining what he was going to do. And I don't just mean the time it takes for a fax message to be transmitted; I mean he could have sent a fax from the time people sent faxes and it still would have arrived in this decade before he made his tackle.




    I'm going to repeat my disclaimer, just to avoid doubt:
    Even if we accept that it was late, it was still a majestic hit and a marvellous reaction from Farrell.

  • stroudos
    2:11 PM 16/02/2017

    Correction: he said he's "had a bit of Kiwi in him".
    Gatland making him his bitch.
    Oo-er Mrs...

  • stroudos
    2:08 PM 16/02/2017

    Yep, fair point Guy, that does seem feasible. That was quite an awesome level of beast mode to maintain for a full 80...

  • guy
    1:44 PM 16/02/2017

    Maybe the coaches instructed him to go out and empty the tank all guns blazing for 50 minutes. And maybe they trusted the subs to finish the job. You can ask yourself if he would have been able to continue at this pace for the last 30 minutes.

  • misterdavid
    12:10 PM 16/02/2017

    Farrell comes off well here. A lot of people dislike him, but he's no cry baby.

  • drg
    12:04 PM 16/02/2017

    I saw on the news that Howley reckons due to the time he's spent with Gatland that he likes to think he has a little bit of kiwi in him.....

    ...Considering the amount of times Wales have been done over, I'd be inclined to suggest Howley has a little bit of English, Irish, French, South African and Australian in him.... Seems like he's been pounded by every nation at one point or another...

  • danknapp
    11:21 AM 16/02/2017

    Howley cocked up. He had written down that he wanted to bring Faletau on a X time and just went ahead and did it, regardless of how well players on the pitch were doing.

  • oliver
    11:09 AM 16/02/2017

    I'm not even claiming to be rational here. I dislike him way too much for that!

    And you're right, the outcome is not the same when he tackles big forwards......... ;-)


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

  • drg
    10:48 AM 16/02/2017

    I agree with your sentiments regarding bastareud, but my issue with you taking offence at Lawes tackle is that it wasn't late, the ball had just gone but it was a legitimately committed tackle, and the landing on the head/neck had nothing at all to do with Lawes technique, he didn't lift the guy, turn the guy or anything like that, he hit him so hard that he spun on a pivotal point.

    Lawes has tackled forwards before, but Frankly he's not likely to impose himself on another forward as it's not that easy, look at the recent tongan Thor vs Messam..... Nothing actually happened when they collided...So Lawes may hit big forwards with the same momentum, but the outcome is not the same...

  • colombes
    9:28 AM 16/02/2017

    Both tackles were slightly late, but perfectly and brutally executed.
    But, regarding Lawes "palmares", you just have to watch his tackles timing to understand he's 95% of time, late.

  • oliver
    8:35 AM 16/02/2017

    That's what I had been saying all along. It could have resulted in a serious neck injury.
    And I just despise Lawes, he has priors. Remember this hit that took out Parra?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbDvGF5O6mg

    The difference with a player like Bastareaud for instance, is that Bastareaud looks back to the player he smashed to see if he's allright. And he actually bumps off players that are his size. You never see Lawes imposing himself on another forward, at least I can't remember it.
    Honestly if Lawes was French he'd be universally despised as a thug (by the way just look at the comments below the video I posted and the amount of anti-French xenophobic bullshit is just frightening)

  • drg
    8:19 AM 16/02/2017

    Oh don't be such a back....

  • drg
    8:19 AM 16/02/2017

    ....You are aware there are two different 'already committed' tackles right?

    There is a genuine 'already committed' which applies to players 1-15, then there is an 'already committed' which applies to us horrible players up front where we giggle like school girls about breaking someone....

  • stroudos
    8:17 AM 16/02/2017

    I wonder if this was Howley's reason for subbing him? Thought maybe he was starting to over-egg the aggro and could be a yellow card risk?

    I'm scraping the rationale barrel really, just speculating. Because other than that I still can't wrap my head around the decision to remove Moriarty, who was arguably the best player on the field at the time. And I would include smashing the oppo playmaker as a positive.

  • stroudos
    8:12 AM 16/02/2017

    Big fan of the old "already committed" defence, but it does not apply to Moriarty's tackle. You can clearly see him watching as Farell passes the ball and only then does he accelerate his run and smash him.

    This is just a factual correction though. Even if we accept that it was late, it was still a majestic hit and a marvellous reaction from Farrell.

  • stroudos
    8:05 AM 16/02/2017

    No, I will not call you a one-eyes Englishman. I'll call you an objective observer of facts, accurately describing two different incidents.

  • 10stonenumber10
    2:00 AM 16/02/2017

    I like the way he took responsibility for it.

    Back to his feet, wry smile. That's what you get for holding onto it a stride too long.

    He would have done the same in Moriarty's shoes. I would have. You would have. The ref would have. Hence no whistle!

  • 12:59 AM 16/02/2017

    Or maybe not hit him at all? I'm no Farrell fan but that was late.

  • 12:58 AM 16/02/2017

    I use to think that about lawes but on the second look I think he sees the ball is gone and really smashes a vulnerable player. As does moriarty, not in the back mind u.

  • rdump0
    10:03 PM 15/02/2017

    They are both marginally late as for both the ball has clearly left the hands. But in both cases the tackler was committed. So nothing to worry about here.
    The only difference is that plisson actually lands on the head/neck. Which is what world rugby is now worrying about.

  • drg
    9:19 PM 15/02/2017

    Actually good point there, if Moriarty completes a perfect tackle, one could argue he was committed (at least in a split second view), if he half pulls out and shoulders Farrell then he has neither tackled or left Farrell alone, so it becomes late and an illegal hit....

  • danknapp
    6:23 PM 15/02/2017

    Don't see a huge problem with it. Probably a bit late and he put himself in a stupid position where he could have got himself a yellow, but quite like to see a bit of aggro in a game.

  • facepalm
    5:00 PM 15/02/2017

    Call me a one eyed Englishman, but Moriarty only really begins to accelerate after the ball is gone. He deliberately commits to a man without the ball. Lawes is accelerating the whole way and is committed to tackling a man in possession of the ball. Both players had the intent to hurt, but only one of them carried it out in a legal manner.

  • guy
    4:49 PM 15/02/2017

    Copybook tackle. And finishing your tackle, even if it is a bit late, is the smart thing to do since the tackled player can't run a supporting line anymore.

  • brig
    3:41 PM 15/02/2017

    Both cracking hits.
    Only difference when slowed down (in my opinion) is that Lawes has his head down ready to hit while Plisson still has the ball (just), Whereas Moriarty sees that Farrell has passed, and then hits, making it marginally late.

    But in realtime who's to argue, both great hits play on!

  • 10stonenumber10
    3:35 PM 15/02/2017

    Nothing to see here. A big bloke hitting another relatively big bloke slightly late. That is what you do as a back row. That is what happens to playmakers who attack the line.

  • drg
    2:52 PM 15/02/2017

    This whole article has a very "backs" aura about it.... Any forward (apart from Mr whingy Moore) would tell you that Moriarty was blatantly committed...

  • vladimir
    2:51 PM 15/02/2017

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCsQ_Gg4tik
    The defence may now speak.

  • moo
    2:27 PM 15/02/2017

    Probably a bit late and discussed to death elsewhere.

    Liked the standard back-row forward drill from Moriarty though: Bosh. Sneaky look over to ref in case I got caught. Get up. Move on.

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