From an attacking scrum 5m out, the Highlanders were immediately forced back to near their 22, where substitute halfback Adam Lennox threw the ball into a lineout. It was promptly nicked by the other Brumbies lock, Lachie Shaw, with replacement flanker Luke Reimer scoring from the resulting maul and drives.
So the Highlanders can point to this costing them the match. It’s not known why they did not, like most sides, sacrifice a forward to get a specialist scrummager and lineout thrower on the park. If starting hooker Jack Taylor wasn’t injured – and there were no signs of that in his 69th-minute subbing – then the Highlanders contributed to their own defeat.
Highlanders hooker Henry Bell. Photo / SmartFrame
That doesn’t change the fact an accidental head clash should not decide a match or that safety measures should not be a turn-off for audiences. The problem: the laws insist the tackler go low enough to avoid the head, despite repeated studies showing roughly 70% of concussions are suffered by tacklers, 30% by ball-carriers.
So the wrong species is being protected. Ball-carriers typically bend low when faced with defenders to maximise ball retention, recycling and post-contact metres. The same thing happened in the Chiefs’ 62-17 romp over Moana Pasifika. Ball-carrier Tupou Vaa’i changed direction and, bending low, accidentally smacked his head against that of Moana Pasifika lock Tom Savage. Once Savage had received medical attention, he was yellow-carded by an embarrassed referee. Ludicrous.
No one is diminishing the very real concern over brain disorders said to be caused by repeated head knocks. Sure, if a head injury is caused by a tackler’s intent or recklessness, yellow or red cards are appropriate.
However, if player safety is the name of the game – and it is – remove both players, carrier and tackler, from the game without penalty (but with a head injury assessment) and insist they are replaced. That way, the ball-carrier bears some of the responsibility and refs can decide whether a head clash is accidental or avoidable in a game where high-speed athletes regularly take evasive action.
If that causes match-day squads to be increased from the current 23, so be it.
Paul Lewis writes about rugby, cricket, league, football, yachting, golf, the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.