'He was a sitting duck': All Blacks await Swain verdict
The second of the many major talking points to come out of the first Bledisloe test in Melbourne last week was Darcy Swainโs dangerous and illegal clean-out on Quinn Tupaea.
Scans revealed that Tupaea had suffered a ruptured medial cruciate ligament (MCL) and partially torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the incident which saw Swain yellow-carded.
Amongst the outcry over Mathieu Raynalโs match-defining time-wasting call, there was an outpouring of sympathy and prayers for Tupaea who is expected to miss the next three months โ the remainder of the international season.
Tupaeaโs All Blacks teammate Beauden Barrett appeared for media on Monday and was asked if he had a view on the incident.
โYea we do, we do, I thought it wasโฆโ Barrett hesitated. โI feel for Quinn, he basically didnโt see it coming, he was a sitting duck.
โIt was a bit of a free shot.โ
Swain was cited for the shot and was scheduled to appear before SANZAARโs judicial committee on Monday night with the outcome set to be announced sometime Tuesday.
The hit has had ramifications throughout both teams.
Swain will likely receive a hefty ban, especially if the committee is to take into account his recent track record with foul play.
Swain received a red card for head-butting England lock Johnny Hill in the July series earlier this year, a World Rugby committee at that time handed Swain a two-week ban.
The All Blacks are down two midfielders, Tupaeaโs knee injury is in addition to David Haviliโs concussion.
A new backline could see Beauden Barrett start at 15 and brother Jordie get his opportunity in the midfield with rugby league convert Roger Tuivasa-Sheck potentially in the mix off the bench.
Barrett went on to express further sympathy for his midfield teammate.
โI feel for him because heโs going to be out of the game for a long period of time.
โIโm not too sure whatโs happening in their camp with Darcy Swain.
โOf course I feel for him (Tupaea), we donโt like to see these sorts of injuries .โ
All Black centurion Aaron Smith also added to Barrettโs sentiment, with a brief comment referencing Swainโs actions.
โSeeing Quinn like that on Friday was pretty tough,โ Smith said.
โYou always feel for the brothers and injuries happen in rugby, but you know, some can be controlled.โ