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Sun 14 Jun 2015 | 01:56
Sonny Bill Williams issued warning for huge hit on Conrad Smith

16
Comments

Chiefs centre Sonny Bill Williams made his return to Super Rugby this weekend following a month off with a nagging back injury. He got right back into the swing of things, and made this massive crunching tackle on All Blacks teammate Conrad Smith in the first half. 

Following a solid shot from Liam Messam, Williams outdid him with a huge tackle on veteran Hurricanes midfielder Conrad Smith. The tough-as-nails All Black legend took the hit well, but asked referee Chris Pollock if it was worth looking at. Pollock said he was comfortable with it.

Williams has since been issued a warning by the citing commissioner however, for contravening Law 10.4 (e) for Dangerous tacking, which states the following:

10.4 (e) Dangerous tackling, A player must not tackle (or try to tackle) an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders. A tackle around the opponents neck or head is dangerous play.

A Citing Commissioner Warning may be issued by the SANZAR Citing Commissioner for foul play incidents that are very close to, but do not meet the red card threshold for citings.

Upon further review of the match footage the Citing Commissioner deemed a Citing Commissioner Warning was appropriate.

Do you think it was high and could have actually been penalised? Whatever the case, it was a massive hit, and Smith did very well to bounce back up from it.

Posted By: Grant Constable

16 Comments

  • browner
    6:30 PM 17/06/2015

    I can't imagine why concussions are such a serious game issue!!!!!!! , this one doesn't even start low & finish high, its only ever high.

    The sooner that tackle contact with the face/neck or head is severely punished the better for future generations imho.

    Credit to Smith, none to sbw.

  • stroudos
    7:48 AM 16/06/2015

    I did. (http://www.rugbydump.com/2015/06/4375/the-shortball-highlights-wrap-from-round-18-of-super-rugby)

    Thought SBW rolled with it pretty well. Admittedly he dropped the ball but the way Lee-lo lined him up and clattered into him, you felt as if Williams was going to get smashed. In fact Lee-lo kind of ran into an immovable object.

  • upthejumper
    2:44 AM 16/06/2015

    I think everyone's on the same page here, appropriate suction, the penalty fits the crime.

    Did you see Lee-Lo's hit on SBW later in the game? Visibly shaken, awesome tackle:
    https://youtu.be/riEbExt-neE?t=3m21s

    Some folks down here, well West Islanders, are complaining of double standards after Will Skelton was cited and suspended, but I reckon it's great to see hard, fully-committed physicality like this.

  • 2:39 AM 16/06/2015

    EAsily a yellow. Watch SbW's form, total league style with no attempt to dip his hips at all to get to chess level or lower. Yes smith dipped a little, as you do when getting ready for contact but SBW barely dips at. Never looked he was going for anything but a high shot. Dangerous tackle, what happened to the good old fashioned chop tackle. Betcha SBW can't execute one.

    With his technique he will be a liability at the RWC. His greatest contribution in the semis was a shoulder charge on cooper. When things happen fast at the highest level he will revert to what he is most familiar with.

  • drg
    10:20 PM 15/06/2015

    Ah, sorry mate, I just clicked on the link and saw the title and incorrectly assumed it was wrong.

    That is a great quote!

  • sheldy85
    8:17 PM 15/06/2015

    How did Conrad smith get up after that hit?! Would of been sleeping for a week if that was me

  • stroudos
    2:49 PM 15/06/2015

    I posted the right link - about 28 seconds in you get the tackle and a brief chat with Paul Williams - great quote "if that's the type of game they want us playing, I'm not sure I want to play any more". And you get the bonus of watching Alesana Tuilagi smashing the reporter into the pool, which I can watch repeatedly and still laugh at seventy-three views later.

    We agree on rising/slipping/riding up being a load of bollocks. If it's high it's high. And that even it is high, a penalty is usually a sufficient sanction. Also, I don't think "he was crouching" is usually a legitimate excuse.

    Where we differ on the two Williams tackles is you seem to think it's a small big difference, whereas I would suggest it is in fact a big small difference.

  • eddie-g
    2:45 PM 15/06/2015

    I think that's about right. Conrad Smith's position at the time of the hit was a mitigating factor, but the tackle was high and he couldn't have had much argument if he'd been yellow-carded.

    But I wonder if part of the motivation for this, I guess you'd call it an official wrist-slap, is that SBW has a bit of a reputation and the busy-bodies wanted to issue a reminder that they are watching him. It is a bit strange to be saying "ok, you didn't do anything massively wrong, but watch your technique in future mate."

  • drg
    11:50 AM 15/06/2015

    It was supposed to be a bit tongue in cheek as they were blatantly obvious. The thing is Stroudos, I think this tackle by SBW is blatantly obvious too...

    I think you meant to post this video no? http://www.rugbydump.com/2011/09/2104/paul-williams-yellow-carded-for-huge-hit-on-theuns-kotze

    The difference with SBW and the tackle in the above linked video is the point of initial contact. Paul Williams shoulder hits the very top of Kotze's torso (but still below the neck) and it appears Kotze's neck springs his face onto the top of Williams shoulder, however in SBW's tackle, SBWs shoulder is the first point of contact with Smith, it's right on Smiths face (or side of face/head)...

    Again, honestly I'm not arguing the case that it should be a penalty/yellow/red/hanging offence, I just don't understand where this 'slip up' 'rise up' 'initially legal' twaddle is coming from when at 0:56 you can clearly see how 'bad' the tackle was...

    Again, pause Paul Williams tackle at 1:08 where you can see he makes initial contact, and pause SBW tackle at 0:56... that's where you can see the big difference (however small it may be...)

  • stroudos
    6:29 AM 15/06/2015

    DrG, Get your point but think your examples are too extreme. There are high tackles and there are blatant clothes lines. (But I do enjoy watching the Tuilagi one for JDV's reaction).

    I think the Sonny Bill one here sits in a similar category to the Paul Williams one in the 2011 World Cup- about 28 seconds into this video:
    http://www.rugbydump.com/2011/11/2225/alesana-tuilagi-smashes-a-reporter

    Paul W got a yellow for that, which I thought was incorrect. Penalty for both (no cards or "citing commissioner warning" whatever that means), in my opinion.

  • drg
    12:09 AM 15/06/2015

    Real bug bear... how in the hell can you use words like "slipped up a little high" if the initial point of contact was on the head?!?!?!

    Don't get me wrong, it was probably accidental and a penalty is fine, but things like "slipped up", "Initially legal", etc etc are complete BS in this scenario....

    Unless of course you and the rest think things like these are classed as 'slip ups' and 'initially legal'

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ss29vABFGM
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he6S8mtSgxE

  • drg
    8:55 PM 14/06/2015

    Don't get me wrong guys, I'm not calling for blood, or even cards.. But what are people on about with all this 'initial' (commentators are included in my little rant)...

    As Bobmac above said, pause at 0:56.. THAT right there is 'initial' - All I can see here is a shoulder to the head.

    Like I said, I've not got much of a problem with the video/incident, it's penalty worthy at most, but I'm just bemused by the commentary stating how it started off legal...

  • jonnyenglish
    5:55 PM 14/06/2015

    Not too much wrong with it, slips a bit high in the end so easily could've been a penalty and worth the warning. To me it looks a bit like a rugby league tackle, and I don't want to see that in Union,

  • danknapp
    5:50 PM 14/06/2015

    I think it was clumsy but not helped by Conrad Smith crouching quite low at the time of impact. Should have been penalised but nothing more. A yellow might have been deemed fair depending on the tone set by the referee on earlier occasions.

  • guy
    5:22 PM 14/06/2015

    Interesting view by the commentator: 'But is was legal initially'. Everything thing starts legal initially...until something illegal happens.

    Smith is an absolute warrior though.

  • dr93
    4:42 PM 14/06/2015

    Clumsy is all. Warning is fine as it would have just been a penalty on field nothing more

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