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All Blacks forward Ardie Savea could face further sanction after making an ugly gesture to a Rebels player in the Super Round in Melbourne.
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The Hurricanes came away 39-33 in their clash at AAMI Park but Savea was the major talking point after the game.
The Hurricane Hurricanes No.8 Ardie Savea made a throat-slitting gesture towards a Melbourne Rebels scrumhalf Ryan Louwrens, which has sparked outrage among many rugby fans. The incident occurred during a physical match, with tensions high on the field, but Savea’s actions were seen as crossing a line.
Rebels captain Reece Hodge then made a complaint to referee James Doleman, saying ‘he’s threatening to kill him’.
The gesture was caught on camera and quickly spread on social media, with many fans expressing their disappointment and concern over Savea’s actions. It’s likely that SANZAAR will be investigating the incident and that Savea will likely face a disciplinary panel at the very least.
Bit of push and shove and Ardie Savea is NOT happy ?
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In the post-match flash interview, Savea apologised for the gesture.
“I can understand the fans are furious around the gesture that I made,” Savea told Stan Sport.
“It was a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing, that’s footy but I understand, kids are watching us.
“That’s out of character for me so I put my hand up and I apologise for that … I’ve got to be better.”
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While some fans have defended Savea’s actions as simply part of the aggressive nature of rugby, the overwhelming consensus seems to be that the throat-slitting gesture is not acceptable on the field or anywhere else.
Many people on social media were appalled by the incident, with some calling for Savea to issue an apology and others questioning his sportsmanship and leadership. Overall, it is clear that Savea’s actions have caused a significant amount of controversy and will likely have consequences for him in the next few weeks.
On a Stan Rugby poll, 62 per cent of respondents said they thought Savea would face sanction over the gesture.
So overblown, it's ridiculous. Heat of the moment stuff. It happens in a physical sport. He was sanctioned, he paid for it with with yellow card, move on man ffs.
The rebels really fronted up physically for that game, like Michael Jones said, “it’s better to give than to receive”. Probably got under his skin a bit. Poor sportsmanship, but nothing to be so woke about lol.
OFFS. Just move on. What a lot of nonsense.