Another red! Bundee Aki gets a red card for devastating high shot

RuckinOaf: Your analogy is wonky and there is almost nobody who drives like that, are you saying rugby and it's risks are the same as a drunk driving 120 through school zones? Mate if there is brain damage due to playing rugby then I suggest you go for a check pronto.....

There's not much difference between this tackle and the Lavanini tackle.

Most amount of deaths in sport are actually in lawn bowls.

Hey stillmissit, dunno what your day job is but I hope you're not a cop. I can see the scenario now "Sir you're driving at 4 times the legal alcohol limit, going 120 kph through a school zone with young children passengers not restrained. But hey people die all the time on the roads no point cracking down. Off you go" There are millions of ex players who deny that this is a game that is too dangerous to play AND how many of them are medical or safety experts ? There are a ton o people who believe that vaccines cause autism - but that don't make it so.

Jacko the runner is picking up the ball of the deck and standing taller as he moves forward. His head only ends up lower after he's been clocked with a shoulder.

Paul D: Send me a note from your protective bubble, could be interesting. So from XR to RXR is that the road forward? Sounds like a logical end result. Please do not play the game, or let your children play, if you are too worried about injury. There are millions of ex players who deny that this is a game that is too dangerous to play. Listening to you and your ilk it would appear players are dicing with death every time they get on the field.

After watching the slow-mo, that is a definite stiff-arm tackle. A stiff arm straight to the throat. An Arthur Beetson special. Definite red card - no sympathy for Aki - dog act.

Are you saying it's acceptable to have the odd death, so long as we get to watch a good spectacle? This "its dangerous and $hit happens" attitude is the same attitude prevalent in many worksites around the country. It's not acceptable there and it's not acceptable in Rugby.

Sound like you took one to many high shots when playing mate.

I can't imagine a reality where Aki's tackle isn't a red card. What's he doing tackling so high that even if the player falls into the tackle he's still knocking his block clean off? There are many examples out there of poor red cards. This is not one of them.

So Medlburnian: How many died in cricket? How many playing lacrosse? These statements are stupid. Are you saying that nobody should be killed playing contact sports yet we die by the thousands on our roads? The world and you have gone off this planet and belong in some idealised utopia where we are all protected by those in power. All we like sheep are led astray.

I slightly disagree with regard to Aki's height and technique, but agree that the current framework is a blunt catch-all that probably isn't as effective as it could be. It punishes accidental and deliberate/reckless with the same on-field punishment. Only post match sanctions seem to consider all the nuances in the dynamic interactions on-field. I'm not really in favor of creating more complexity to on-field sanctions, but agree with you in that the current set up is too blunt an instrument.

50% of the force ... Yes that's Newtonian physics. :stoked:

Remind me again how many deaths were there this year in Union? 4 in France if I recall correctly. Tackle lower should be the call. The problem is when you have the combined mass of 220 kgs smashing into one another someone is going to get hurt. Either the tackler or the ball carrier or both.

I do agree with you in regards to the tackle but I feel that a red card for a tackle where the runner suddenly seems to drop before contact is harsh.....I dont think the red card was designed for accidental or incidental contact I think it was for deliberate Foul play.....I thought Aki went in to the tackle at a legitimate tackling height but the runners head ended up lower than expected....Aki even had bent legs also lowering his shoulder height but this was not taken into consideration.....I believe if this is the way forward....which for player safety is fine by me...then Rugby needs to adjust their card system for a non deliberate hit to the head......

All Red cards are an “accident” nobody intentionally puts their team down a man on purpose. :laughing:

Agree mz, it was all very quick, with the ball loose etc. The fact that he missed 3/4 of the game will lower his sentence as well.

Some similarities with the Englishman (?) Piers Francis’ tackle. Both ball carriers falling to some extent. Will Bundee ‘ncoke get off as well?

You’re letting facts get in the way of a good whinge. ‘He was involved in high contact’ ‘He could have dropped lower’ That means card, the force was considerable, and victim blaming doesn’t apply any mitigation. Red.

Well, he is an Aucklander, so technically, yea, a Kiwi... but you know... ... Auckland...