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As Wallabies lock Darcy Swain prepares to face a Sanzaar judiciary for his challenge on Quinn Tupaea, footage from the same Bledisloe Test reveals All Blacks prop Fletcher Newell performing a similar action at a different breakdown on Scott Sio.
All Blacks replacement back Tupaea was forced from the field late in the first half of their dramatic 39-37 win over the Wallabies with a MCL injury, after Wallabies lock Swain came in from the side and made contact around the legs of his opponent.
Initially there were fears Tupaea had suffered an ACL injury, which would keep the 23-year-old on the sidelines for an estimated nine months. It has since emerged that Tupaea will likely be out of action for three months.
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The incident saw All Blacks coach Ian Foster slam Swain for his role in injuring his opponent.
“We’ve got a big issue with it,” Foster said in his post-match press conference.
“We’ve got a player who’s probably out for nine months and you’re not allowed to target legs on the side at clean-out past the ball.
“The rules are pretty clear.”
Swain was shown a yellow card for the incident, but many believed he should have been sent off.
Indeed, Swain’s clean-out effort was cited by an independent judiciary officer and the 25-year-old will have a hearing on Monday to determine whether he is guilty.
Should he be deemed guilty, the Brumbies lock will likely face a long stint on the sidelines.
But footage from the same match reveals a similar incident, where replacement prop Newell comes in from the side and drags Sio’s legs down and lands his body weight on his leg.
The incident occurred in the 72nd minute with the All Blacks in possession, but one of the only differences is that Sio comes away from the challenge unscathed.
The Wallabies will likely use the example to show that Swain’s challenge was merely a rugby incident, with the lock not necessarily having intent to injure nor attack his opponent.
While former international referee Nigel Owens believed Swain was fortunate not to be shown a red card for his clean-out at the breakdown, the highly respected Welshman added that the outcome of incidents should not come into consideration of officials.
“Forgot the outcome of this, it is a careless clear-out and it could warrant a red card in itself and whether he deliberately targets that area, he does target that area which is something World Rugby have asked referees to clamp down on, and this could well warrant a red card,” Owens told foxsports.com.au.
“It is a tricky one, there will be a lot of arguments that a yellow card is sufficient.
“There’ll also be justified arguments that a red card would be justified as well, particularly on the outcome of it. But you’ve got to be very careful that you’re not always basing your decisions on an outcome.”
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