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Thu 1 Mar 2012 | 04:25
The big hits, try savers, and collisions from England vs Wales

40
Comments

England and Wales' Six Nations encounter at Twickenham on Saturday was one of the more intense games of the weekend. With the Triple Crown at stake, and of course bragging rights, neither side gave an inch. Here's a look at some of the rough stuff.

The biggest hit of the game was probably winger George North's tackle on new England flyhalf Owen Farrell. It was an awesome sequence, as young Farrell showed he can produce bits of magic out of nowhere, before North said hang on, we can't have that, and flattened him.

It was included in the highlights of the match so that's why you haven't seen it on here sooner. Rather than feature it on it's own, it makes sense to show all the good stuff together, including a few big charges from another young beast, England center Manu Tuilagi.

Tuilagi, alongside tackling machine Brad Barritt, gave them good go-forward ball as he bumped defenders out of the way and actually came close to scoring on one occasion, had it not been for an incredible tackle from Welsh captain Sam Warburton.

That's in the video too, as well as a few other collisions, charges, and tackles, including Leigh Halfpenny's excellent trysaver on David Strettle at the end. While it didn't look technically perfect, he put his body on the line, coming off worse for wear but saving the day for his side.

If you enjoy thie video, feel free to leave a comment, and share this post with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+

Song: Geraldine by Glasvegas

Posted By: Grant Constable

40 Comments

  • quins1
    8:12 PM 09/04/2012

    george north's tackle was perfectly timed and tuilagi thinks priestland is a weakling and deserves to be boshed

  • ruggernut
    5:06 PM 05/03/2012

    They definatly are legal. After the game, one of the French coaches even said 'it was a great rugby league tackle but we aren't playing rugby league.' And all rugby league pundits even said that the best tackle of the world cup was Sam Warburton's.

  • keenbeen13
    12:48 AM 04/03/2012

    Tip tackles aren't legal in rugby league. Anything that goes past horizontal is penalised. There seem to be less grey area tip tackles in league than union.

  • juggernauter
    12:44 AM 04/03/2012

    Haha yeah fair point. I'm SH myself so that's kinda funny... Anyway, both FBs had a great world cup, and maybe Dagg is peerless on the attacking side, while he is solid defensively, Halfpenny imo is rock solid in defence and a constant threat in attack.

    Just enjoying the rugby really!

  • fettsack
    7:40 PM 03/03/2012

    As I said it earlier, it looked like Robshaw pulled Warburton down in the lineout but looking closely, this is entirely Lydiate's fault (Wales 6). Instead of just lifting Warburton he threw him in the air and you can see his ass is easily two feet above Lydiate's hands.
    Not only does he throw him but he doesn't do any effort to land him safely. It's very dangerous for his teammate, as a jumper I know you need to have confidence in the lifters to help you down safely when something's gone wrong.

  • ruggernut
    1:01 PM 03/03/2012

    I would disagree. In rugby league, tip tackles (such as Warburtons) are legal so why should they be so outlawed in another sport? Obviously driving someone head first into the ground isn't good at all, but going slightly over the horizontal or dropping someone should be allowed. If not, then there should be a harsher punishment for pulling someone down from a lineout.

  • stroudos
    10:36 AM 03/03/2012

    Yeah, fair point. Although I reckon Lydiate and Faletau have a chat with this bloke about how to look after your jumper!!
    http://www.rugbydump.com/2011/10/2221/beast-mtawarira-prevents-keegan-daniel-from-flipping-head-first

  • 7:43 PM 02/03/2012

    Totally agree with your comments on Strettle. He had at least a good 5 yards to work with and yet he straigtened, BIZZARE!, suppose he thought he could run over Leigh Halfpenny (certainley got that wrong). I reckon Strettle had the pace to just get in, in the corner, although in saying that it would have been very close!.

  • cheyanqui
    4:48 PM 02/03/2012

    1:04 -- North with the Money Shot...


    That's what SHE said.

  • pretzel
    4:09 PM 02/03/2012

    Firstly, I had NO issues with that tackle ethically, morally, theoretically, because it to me is what rugby is all about etc. but I believe I was the person quoting "tip tackle." I was not 100% on the guidelines of what constitutes a tip tackle, and was under the impression that if a player goes beyond the horizontal then it is classed as a tip tackle, I have since found information to the contrary of that and have realised a bit better the "tip tackle" guidelines therefore retracting my previous comment... :)

  • pretzel
    4:03 PM 02/03/2012

    Ok, I read the following on the BBC news about Bradley Davis tackle:

    "The player lifted his opponent beyond a horizontal position but did not bring him to the ground safely contrary to Law 10.4(j) and the IRB's particular emphasis on this aspect of the game"

    I suppose that sort of clears it up, because BD dropped the Irish player it was bad, but because North sort of "placed" Farrell it was ok...

    Sorry about that guys, I just wanted a little more clarification on the horizontal bit of the laws. As I must reiterate I have NO gripes with this tackle and would not complain (about the legality) if I was on the receiving end of it anyway! I was merely trying to connect it to the laws, some of which I am not too impressed with these days.

  • pretzel
    3:57 PM 02/03/2012

    I have no gripes with Norths tackle Stroudos, I believe that tackle was perfect and was cracking to see! I have gripes with the current laws...

    As I previously stated is there not something where the player must not go beyond the horizontal mark? And really as I said Farrell did go beyond the horizontal mark...

    I know your stance on tackles like these and I agree with them, however my views and opinions of the game and the laws do not always go hand in hand. For instance I am all for raking the hell out of someone lying in the way... the laws on the other hand appear to be against that these days...

  • gaspar
    2:36 PM 02/03/2012

    You're probably right sir.

  • colombes
    2:06 PM 02/03/2012

    Plenty of good tackles in this video, but how people can consider North tackle as a tip tackle? he brought him on the ground in the rules and never let him fall.
    Concerning Pienaar quote "dancing is a contact sport, rugby is a collision" we all agree. but the embarassing thing is that it was to excuse a deserved red card (ps: warburton) ... Would we listen the same quote if a french player had made this tackle? Certainly not ;)

  • guy
    1:17 PM 02/03/2012

    It's been a long time since the last time I've seen everybody (North and South) this raving enthousiastic about a test match. And I couldn't agree more!

    This clip is fabulous. And there was even a lot more exciting stuff going on throughout the match... Great stuff!!

  • guy
    1:13 PM 02/03/2012

    Well, actually it IS also a girls game...don't be a sexist!!!!! ;-)

    No really, I don't think a lot of blokes on this site would like to see the highlights of the women's matches here but the technical end overall level and commitment of women rugby is quite high. In my opinion off course.

  • ruggernut
    12:54 PM 02/03/2012

    In the words of Francois Peineaar "Dancing is a contact sport, Rugby is a collision." Great hits in this video all of them legal. A pleasure to watch and a real good test match.

  • ruggernut
    12:50 PM 02/03/2012

    I 100% agree. He's much higher than in a spear tackle and therefore far more dangerous.

  • filth
    11:04 AM 02/03/2012

    I've nearly fainted at some of the claims about these tackles. There is NOTHING wrong with these tackles. Rugby IS NOT a girls game. There is nothing wrong with a bit of toughness in rugby. Get over it.

  • stroudos
    11:00 AM 02/03/2012

    The commentator Eddie Butler is Welsh, so he's hardly being cocky. If you listen carefully, there's a pause after "win it", which is Butler correcting himself.

  • stroudos
    10:55 AM 02/03/2012

    By the way, Mr Dump - I'm sure I speak on behalf of the majority in saying this is exactly the type of clip we all come to this site to see!

    Awesome.

    Never mind the tries and all that boring kicking the ball between posts rubbish, let's see the big tackles. This game really lent itself to an RD compilation, defined as it was on solid defence and big hits.

    Hats off to you mate, please keep up the great work.

  • stroudos
    10:51 AM 02/03/2012

    Pretzel, you must be seriously bored if you really want to discuss the North tackle. It's a perfect tackle in every sense.

    The overall principle is if you lift a player you're responsible for his landing. North has practically caressed Farrell to the ground. Look how low North's body is and all his weight is on the lower half of Farrell's body.

  • nsgvna
    10:02 AM 02/03/2012

    I'm Welsh: there was no way that the line-out incident was England's fault. And the fact that some Welsh players told Warburton to "milk it" is pretty depressing and says a lot about him that he didn't. I thought we'd got rid of that behaviour after Halfpenny forced out Lee Byrne from the side.
    And Canadian Content is right on. If you can't do tackles like on Farrell, then we might as well play badminton.
    As much as I love beating England, it's good to see them with a young team concentrating on rugby instead of their egos. Lancaster has to get the job.

  • pretzel
    3:21 AM 02/03/2012

    Well I agree in principle with what you say, but it has been stated by others a lot that intent is not a factor at all..

    Therefore someone REALLY trying to hurt someone can be judged exactly the same as someone who accidently tipped someone,...

    I suppose what I am getting at is when we saw Ferris (I think it was) get a yellow for his apparent tip tackle, it really didn't look any worse than this tackle...

    Both tackles (Ferris tackle and the welsh players tackle) in my eyes were totally legitimate, however my opinions count for nothing when it comes to the laws, so I was wondering whether this is actually borderline illegal according to the laws or at least getting close to being illegal, I've yet to really get a clear cut definition of a dangerous tip/spear/whatever tackle out of quite a few similar tackles:

    This one
    Warburtons world cup tackle
    Ferris tackle
    Bradley davis?!?!? (yellow card against ireland)

  • kettlerugby
    1:46 AM 02/03/2012

    *definitely not a penalty to Wales !

  • kettlerugby
    1:46 AM 02/03/2012

    Sorry but the Welsh lineout lifters just through Warburton up and let go! The England boys didnt pull him down...definitely not a penalty to England. Despite his amazing talent, I would hate for Warburton to turn into a McCaw i.e. can do no wrong on referees eyes.

  • pretzel
    12:30 AM 02/03/2012

    Is RD getting a sudden influx of trolls lately? More and more comments seem to be completely ridiculous...

  • flyingpepper
    12:17 AM 02/03/2012

    Blew1 - think you need to watch again, the welsh lifters let go of him and plus threw him up, the knee was past the head. the back ones isn't even holding on to him when Robshaw touches him, great teamwork.

    Had to love the commentator at the very end, with off 80 mins gone, "which way will they try and win it or draw it"... think you will find England at that point could only ever draw

  • blew1
    11:50 PM 01/03/2012

    How on Earth wasn't Chris Robshaw not yellow carded or worse for pulling Warburton down from the lineout!? That's shocking!! He didn't even try to make it look like an accident!!
    The IRB's been going on and on about spear tackles but surely that's worse? He's 5/6 feet up in the air!!! Far worse than a spear tackle in my opinion!

  • ak-nz
    11:38 PM 01/03/2012

    Yea I also think this has to be one of the more exciting and intense 6 nations matches I've seen for a wee while. The determination was visible from both sides, and I'm really impressed with the way Wales is developing into an even greater threat. It also appears that England can look forward to bigger and brighter things with the talent they have in this squad. I can't wait to see a really dominant English side again. If only they used their backs a little more and scored a few more tries ;) However, I think credit goes to the Welsh defense in this match at least, as they drifted and scrambled brilliantly.

    Also, how good is Warburton? Quickly becoming one of my favourite players. His tackle was perfect in every sense. It won't be long until he's the premier openside in the world (if he isn't close to that already).

    Cheers for the highlights reel RD.

  • 11:18 PM 01/03/2012

    If there was something wrong with North's tackle on Farrell, I don't want to watch rugby anymore. Yes Farrell had to protect himself, but aren't all ball carriers required to?

    Warburton's tackle was simply outstanding, this was by far the best northern hemisphere test match I've seen in a while.

    I don't think Wales are world beaters yet, otherwise they would have won the world cup, but they are playing some great rugby and certainly have assembled an incredible team. I think their sevens program must be given alot of credit as well, for grooming young players.

    North is a beast and will be a force for years to come.

  • stroudos
    11:06 PM 01/03/2012

    Definitely. They really did an effective job of shutting him down didn't they. Reminiscent of the time Joe Melonhead Worseley was singularly tasked with chopping Roberts down.

    The difference is that now you can neutralise Roberts but they can turn to a load of other hard-hitting strike runners - North, Cuthbert, Davies, Faletau...

  • stroudos
    11:03 PM 01/03/2012

    North's tackle on Farrell was perfect. No need for any debate. The only people at fault there are Farrell's England team-mates for being completely fucking invisible when he looked left and right for any sign of a support runner.

    Similarly the only people at fault for Warburton falling from that lineout are his lifters, who simply dropped him. Looks to me like Robshaw has very quickly realised he was likely to get done for it so took a "dive" himself. I can't condone that sort of thing but reckon he might have saved himself from a yellow card, which in my opinion would have been unfair.

    Final comment from me: when Dave Strettle was mouthing off to the press the other day about benefit of the doubt etc, he should have been having a go at Mike Brown for giving that pass so early, allowing the Welsh defenders to shut him down.

  • juggernauter
    9:55 PM 01/03/2012

    I can't believe how Leigh Halfpenny has grown as a player. I remember him 5 years ago, a little, skinny kid playing for Cardiff, and now he must be the in form fullback along with Israel Dagg. He's risen his game in every aspect, and he's a reflex of what's been going on in Wales.

    Also, North... phew, what a player. Just unstoppable in attack or defence, and has a rugby brain too.

    This Welsh side left me dubious after the World Cup -after all, they lost against both the Springboks and the Wallabies, and France, and defeated Namibia, Fiji, Samoa an Ireland, clearly inferior rivals- but now they are coming of age. Exciting stuff lies up ahead

  • pretzel
    9:37 PM 01/03/2012

    I'm sorry but 1:10 look at the tackle from that angle... The Welsh player does not appear to "lift" in a sense, more pull his arms in tight to "wrap" the player (and let's all face it, "attempting to wrap" is one of the biggest bitching topics on RD). The Welsh player then drives Farrell backwards (slightly) and Farrell puts his elbow down.

    I am not 100% on the Horizontal rule, but Farrell is beyond the horizontal at 1:12... had he not put his elbow down I'm sure he'd have landed on his shoulders...

    Now to me that tackle was brilliant, well timed, well executed, and "smashing" but is it possible that tackle could be card worthy? or Penalty worthy? according to recent rulings?

    I remember the commentators mentioning how it was perfect but having a little dig with the current laws saying it was close to horizontal...

    Anyway, some brilliant tackles on here, Warburtons tackle on Tuilagi was brilliant!

  • graceofbod
    9:08 PM 01/03/2012

    Sam Warburton on Tuilagi possibly one of the best tackles of all time. If sam goes high its a try, so he takes his ankles. Great tackle.

  • 9:00 PM 01/03/2012

    Now tht is what i call a test match!!

    If ever there was a question asking to define a tests match, tht would be it! Outstanding!

  • brecor
    8:47 PM 01/03/2012

    quite fitting then, no?

  • fettsack
    8:29 PM 01/03/2012

    Good video! Superb tackle from Warburton on Tuilagi!
    On Warburton falling badly from a line out, I thought it was from England but actually the English player only helps him down a little. It's the lifter's fault for throwing him in the air instead of a normal lift. He's two feet higher than Lydiate's hands.

  • wade_mathew
    7:23 PM 01/03/2012

    i was there...electrifying

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