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Sun 25 Nov 2018 | 06:37
WATCH: Farrell makes another controversial big hit

16
Comments

England fly half Owen Farrell produced a huge tackle on Australia lock Izack Rodda to prevent a try during Saturday’s Autumn series test match at Twickenham.

Rodda made a clean break in overtime in the first half but was stopped on the five metre line by a crunching tackle from Farrell, but as with his hit on André Esterhuizen against the Springboks, the legality of the tackle has been questioned.

Immediately after the hit, Sky Sports commentator Stuart Barnes said: “It’s an amazing save by Owen Farrell but there’s no left shoulder there, that’s a penalty.”

The challenge was not referred to the Television Match Official despite claims of an infringement by the Wallaby players and Australia head Coach Michael Cheika said the decision was “ridiculous”.

"We went to the referee meeting after the South Africa game and they told us that Farrell's tackle then should have categorically been a penalty,” Cheika told Sky Sports.

"So if that's a penalty, this one today was three penalties. The idea that the referee said that our player (Rodda) ran in and shoulder charged him (Farrell) is ridiculous."

England went on to win the match 37-18 in the final game of the autumn series, full match highlights are available below.

Posted By: Shaywaterworth

16 Comments

  • danknapp1
    8:59 PM 29/11/2018

    Had promised myself I wouldn't get dragged into discussions about what should and what should not be a card on RD, cos that's dull as dishwater, but this was a card and I can't believe we got away with another one. No idea what the referees have been drinking this autumn but please can I have some of it?

  • bagsofsmoke
    6:15 PM 25/11/2018

    An 18 stone Aussie lock leads with his shoulder, at full pace, 4m from the line and gets sat on his arse by an English fly half. Yep, I can see why you guys are so sore about it. Bloody funny if you're English though. Kind of summed up how effective the Aussie pack was all game. It's almost harder not to score that try. For the record, Farrell obviously put everything into that hit, and it was a hit more than a tackle, but Rodda dipping and leading with his shoulder complicates things a bit in my view. I wouldn't have complained if it had been a penalty try and a yellow, but it wouldn't have affected the result. Australia were woeful - it was a pretty embarrassing performance from the Aussies, although Folau's try was sensational and I thought Cooper was sheer class in the post match interview. Australia have some high class players (just not in the front five) but are hamstrung by a terrible coaching team. 

    • reality
      9:25 PM 25/11/2018

      How exactly does Rodda dipping and leading with the shoulder complicate things?And saying it wouldn't have affected the result is a bit presumptuous. There's a big difference between going in at half time down after having just been robbed of a try, and going in ahead and with the opposition down to 14 for the next ten minutes.

      • im1
        8:52 AM 27/11/2018

        Leading with the shoulder, complicates things, because technically, if you were to penalise Farrell for a shoulder charge under law 9.12, then you would have to penalise Rodda under the same law. If World Rugby want to say that Farrell has not tried to grasp Rodda so should be penalised under 9.16 then the can, but they didn't make that explicitly clear after the hit on Esterhuizen. So these, sorts of hits are probably always going to be assessed by the ref on the pitch on whether they thought it was dangerous - which I think a lot of supporters of the game, who are getting pissed off with the softening of the game would appreciate. On a slightly separate point, as an England supporter, I would quite happily have this decision reversed, as well as the Farrell tackle against SA. There would just need to be the reversal of the Lawes offside against NZ to balance it out...

  • pickay
    6:10 PM 25/11/2018

    Looks like Farrell really has perfected his technique for the shoulder charge disguised as an attempted legal tackle. Impressive.

  • 45678
    2:26 PM 25/11/2018

    He clearly didn’t wrap his arm, but it’s not dangerous. It’s probably a penalty try and a yellow based on the proximity to the try line. There were worse tip tackles in the game (to Daly twice from memory)A lot of people getting hysterical because england (how dare they) string a few modest results together.

  • dotser88
    1:24 PM 25/11/2018

    @10stone..My point isn’t about the hit. (I think it was yellow card & penalty try given the scenario) but what happened after. I don’t like that Farrell cheated, I thought he feigned the injury when he did it against SA, but gave him benefit of the doubt, he’s done it again for 2nd time in a few weeks...so it’s clearly a ploy. 

  • dotser88
    1:22 PM 25/11/2018

  • dotser88
    1:19 PM 25/11/2018

  • colombes
    11:46 AM 25/11/2018

    That's the first time i watch a player shoulder-charging another, and trying to milk an injury in the process.Did i miss something in WR rules or Farrell is "unlucky" to be again in the spotlights?

  • reality
    10:09 AM 25/11/2018

    Oh my God that is the most blatant shoulder charge preventing a try i've ever seen. Have England bought all the referees or what?

  • dotser88
    9:08 AM 25/11/2018

    Farrell’s subsequent feigning of injury is a disgrace. He collapses in a heap in this one against Australia and does the exact same thing in tackle versus South Africa. When the ref waves play on he miraculously jumps up. That reaction always tells you that the tackler (Farrell in this case) knows what they’ve done.

    • jimmy23
      9:51 AM 26/11/2018

      Feigning injury? Sorry but that's nonsense. He was just involved in a massive collision which sent him flying back and within 2 seconds he's getting up again. How is that "feigning injury"?  

      • dotser88
        11:28 PM 26/11/2018

        Did you read the whole comment? He’s mastered the art of collapsing in a heap. Have a look at the two incidents. It’s a mechanism deployed to illicit leniency from the ref. He’s not the only one mind you, players often try it when they take players out of the air and pretend they’re injured so it looks more like a ‘collision’. 

        • jimmy23
          9:24 AM 27/11/2018

          "He's mastered the art of collapsing in a heap".Points out two incidents over a 4 week period, both after massive collisions with people bigger than him which knocked him over. If he was really trying to 'feign injury', he'd spend more than a couple of seconds on the floor. End of. "players often try it when they take players out of the air and pretend they’re injured so it looks more like a ‘collision’."Which almost never works?

    • 10stonenumber10
      9:59 AM 25/11/2018

      I'd believe it if it was 5'8'' 12st Damian McKenzie, a bloke Farrell's size doesn't bounce off hits unless he hasn't wrapped... It was one of the only mitigating circumstances before, players hit each other too quick/too hard and bounce out of attempted arm wraps. Faz wants him to step to his inside shoulder so he can "clumsily readjust" with a shoulder to his chinPretend you've got it wrong from the very start, and hopefully the TMO/Citing commissioner will rule out any deliberate intent

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