Nigel Owens has admitted that Ardie Savea could have been red carded had his tackle on Jasper Wiese been an “inch higher” but that the right call was ultimately made.
In one of the key moments from the opening Test at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, the All Blacks star escaped punishment for a hit on his opposite number.
Referee Matthew Carley was asked to look at the incident by TMO Mike Adamson after Savea went into the tackle upright, eventually resulting in his shoulder making contact with Wiese’s head.
Ardie Savea tackle causes ‘whiplash’ motion
However, it was determined that it only occurred due to the ‘whiplash’ motion which followed a perfectly legal tackle according to Owens.
Carley felt that the initial contact was on the shoulder of the Boks loose forward and the Welshman agreed with the call.
Owens also didn’t blame the television match official for coming in after he himself thought that it deserved another look while watching the game.
“To be fair to the TMO when I was watching that live, I thought, ‘Oof, they’re going to check this’ because it looked high,” he said on World Rugby’s Whistle Watch.
“First of all, let’s look at what a high tackle is; a tackle above the line of the shoulder and making contact with the head or neck. What happens after that is degree of danger, head-on-head, shoulder-to-head, then you go into the yellow or red card zone.
“Then they look at it. The key thing for me is this, the initial contact seems to be right on the shoulder and the South African number eight’s head goes forward into the New Zealand player because of the force of the tackle.
“Just remember, an upright tackle is not illegal as long as you’re not leading with the shoulder. An upright tackle is legal unless there’s contact with the head or neck.
“There isn’t that direct contact with the head or neck here so it’s unlikely they will identify this as foul play.”
Why Savea was fortunate
Savea was not far from getting it wrong, though, as he took a big risk. While no punishment was handed out, the All Blacks number eight could have been sent-off had he been slightly higher.
With the 32-year-old completely upright and Wiese not dipping or taking a late step into contact, no mitigation would have been applied in this instance, leading to a 20-minute red and a ban.
“He’s very lucky because if he had been an inch higher and it’s direct contact to the head, you’re probably looking at a 20-minute red card but, to be fair, a strong on-field decision by the referee,” he added.
“The key for me is the ball carrier’s head goes into the tackler rather. I would say a very followable decision here.”