Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Exactly what Michael Hooper said to referee Romain Poite

Michael Hooper

Australia’s loss to Wales on Sunday in the Rugby World Cup offered a number of controversial moments, which chiefly left Michael Cheika despondent.

ADVERTISEMENT

None was more controversial than the penalty awarded to Wales for a carry by Samu Kerevi in which he led with the forearm into the throat of defender Rhys Patchell.

Since then there has been a backlash from those that feel the game has gone too far in trying to be safe, and Kerevi himself has even joked that he may need to move to rugby league if carries like his are now illegal.

Wallabies captain Michael Hooper was one to object during the game, and can be heard in referee Romain Poite’s microphone contesting the decision to give a penalty.

Poite initially told Hooper: “This is the third penalty, we have had a penalty for high tackle, and offsides. Please make sure your players play in the law”.

Hooper then asked: “Can we not run into the tackle anymore?”

He also said that it was “terrible tackle technique” from Patchell and that it was a “very good carry” from Kerevi.

“That’s just terrible tackle technique and you can’t carry the ball if that’s going to be the ruling.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“We can’t run into tackles because we’ll get pulled up all day.”

Poite responds: “This is my call.

“You can’t touch the throat of the opponent.”

In a RWC that has already been defined by high tackles, this recent incident surrounding Kerevi has further muddied the waters.

The Wallabies centre did lead with his forearm and it did end up in Patchell’s throat, but Hooper is right in calling out his tackle technique.

The fly-half was high going into the tackle, and actually came perilously close to being punished himself.

ADVERTISEMENT

Moreover, leading with an arm is commonplace in rugby, and calling attention to this incident will only lead to outrage down the line if someone is not punished for a similar offence.

Cheika himself loosely referred to Peceli Yato leading with his forearm when being tackled by Reece Hodge, something the Australian was banned for three weeks for.

This incident was dangerous, and it is easy to see why the officials deemed it to be a penalty, but it is equally as easy to see Hooper and Cheika’s perspective as they felt a good carry was penalised.

Anthony Watson looks ahead to Argentina on Saturday and discusses the competition for places on the wing.

Video Spacer
ADVERTISEMENT

Boks Office | Episode 39 | The Investec Champions Cup is back

Argentina v France | HSBC SVNS Hong Kong 2025 | Men's Match Highlights

New Zealand v Australia | HSBC SVNS Hong Kong 2025 | Women's Match Highlights

Tokyo Sungoliath vs Shizuoka BlueRevs | Japan Rugby League One 2024/25 | Full Match Replay

Reds vs Force | Super Rugby W 2025 | Full Match Replay

The Rise of Kenya | The Report

New Zealand in Hong Kong | Brady Rush | Sevens Wonders | Episode 4

The Fixture: How This Rugby Rivalry Has Lasted 59 Years

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 2 hours ago
Razor has an about turn on All Blacks eligibility rules

Yep, another problem!


I think he would have, in the instance I mentioned, which wasn’t changing anything other than correctly applying todays eligibility quidelines. Which is an arbitrary construct, as the deal likely would have played out completely differently, but I just ‘allowed’ him to have 1 year sabbatically for his ‘loyalty’, rather than having some arbitrary number like 70 caps required.


So if Richie had a 3 year deal, and the first year he was allowed to use him still, I don’t think he’d really not transition to Dmac being his main 10, as he’s obviously the only one he can use for the following two years, therefore likely his only real option for the WC (very hard for Richie to overtake him in such a short time). Richie would purely be a security net in a situation like I proposition where there are only small changes to the eligibility.


The system is not working well enough though, as we don’t have the Rugby Championship or World Cup trophies, do we? Well on that last question, that’s all I’m really saying but I would not believe a word this author says, so it’s entirely a ‘what if’ discussion, but if the author is right and now they are actually going to be more flexible, I think that’s great yeah. Ultimately thought I think those two players were an anomaly signing their contracts and futures up so far ahead, especially of when they were performing. Both jumped at the opportunity of good contracts when their All Black prospects weren’t looking that bright.

51 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Worcester Warriors poised to make first two signings Worcester Warriors poised to make first two signings
Search