Watch: Waisake Naholo escapes punishment for tip-tackle on Israel Folau to anger of Australia captain Michael Hooper
Australia's Israel Folau is tip tackled by New Zealand's Waisake Naholo
New Zealand’s opening Rugby Championship match against Australia saw yet another controversial refereeing decision lead to further questions of how the All Blacks are treated on the international stage, with Waisake Naholo’s tip-tackle on Israel Folau leaving the Wallabies’ captain Michael Hooper incensed.
All Blacks wing Naholo clearly tipped Folau past the horizontal as he tackled him to the ground, only for referee Jaco Peyper to award a penalty only for the offence.
Speaking to Peyper in his role as Australia captain, Hopper questioned how the offence wasn’t worthy of a harsher sanction.
"That's foul play," said Hooper after the penalty was awarded. "He went above the horizontal."
Peyper responded: "It's a judgement call - he was just a bit late. It wasn't just the tackler (that contributed)."
Frustrated that the penalties were costing Australia any chance of going for a try, Hooper added: "He landed on his shoulder. It's all about player safety, Jaco. Unfortunately that's two threes [penalties] we've had to take now, not a try,"
Watch the video below...
We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.
The failure to send off Naholo, or issue a yellow card, appears to go against World Rugby’s directions on the matter, having launched an offensive against such tackles in recent times. Law 9.18 states: “A player must not lift an opponent off the ground and drop or drive that player so that their head and/or upper body make contact with the ground.”
The sanction for such an offence starts at a penalty, but more often than not tip-tackles tend to result in a yellow card and have even been known to involve straight red cards.
The inconsistency of such decisions has led to plenty of frustration, and comes not long after New Zealand’s controversial summer series with France. In the first Test, both Sam Cane and Ofa Tu’ungafasi escaped sanction for a high tackle on Remy Grosso that left him with two facial fractures. The second Test saw Benjamin Fall wrongly sent-off for a tackle in the air on Beauden Barrett in which he was pushed just before making contact, while the third Test saw referee John Lacey appear to impede the French defence to allow a New Zealand try to be scored at a crucial moment.
The latest incident, which came in New Zealand’s 38-13 win over their closest rivals, drew criticism on social media. England international Anthony Watson said on Twitter: “More inconsistency how’s that just a penalty.”
Former England and British and Irish Lions international Ugo Monye added: “If Rugby wants to be a genuine global game then [you] can’t expect fans/players to not get frustrated when [you] could be watching two games in different comps with different tackle heights, interpretations and guidelines. Get confusing for all. Should’ve been a yellow IMO.”
Australia’s ill-feeling was not helped by Naholo’s late double which secured the victory for New Zealand to put them top of the table as early leaders of the Rugby Championship.
