@African-Monkey said in Bulls v Highlanders:
A shoulder charge into the head is always gonna be a red it's not a hard concept to understand.
how is it a shoulder charge, a shoulder charge is what blue 5 did
Bulls
Match thread
Highlanders
The Bulls decision to turn down 3 from 5 metres in front is one of the worst pieces of captaincy this season. Absolutely ridiculous decision.
@KiwiMurph said in Bulls v Highlanders:
The Bulls decision to turn down 3 from 5 metres in front is one of the worst pieces of captaincy this season. Absolutely ridiculous decision.
You got that right.
@Stargazer said in Bulls v Highlanders:
@Tordah Not far. About half a minute?
thanks you. That's what I get for being an illegal little dick I guess
even game over the local guys try to influence the match, waiting for us to drop it, delaying the hooter for 26 seconds over the 80m, while Highlanders were keeping it tight
about naholo red, I could see yellow, just. But the Bulls player spilt the ball and Naholo went for the ball and caught him in the head with a strong challenge. He was definitely targeting the ball.
@Tordah said in Bulls v Highlanders:
Referee has been the best on the park
for real
He managed to make a sh1t game even worse with his bullsh1t calls
@Tordah said in Bulls v Highlanders:
Pleasants-Tate gets a shoulder to the face in a cleanout
Right in front of the ref yet he could not make the call
completely off topic, since there isn't a thread....but I switched to the Madrid Open semi between Nadal and Djokovic (go Nadal!)
and there are some mighty fine ball girls....they all seem to be 21 years old and sexy as h*ll 
aaand a follow up... http://www.nbcnews.com/video/rtv/6300390
Oct. 21: The Spanish government is asking tennis organizers to stop using models as ball-girls in Madrid Masters tennis tournament, calling it sexist.
@Wairau said in Bulls v Highlanders:
aaand a follow up... http://www.nbcnews.com/video/rtv/6300390
Oct. 21: The Spanish government is asking tennis organizers to stop using models as ball-girls in Madrid Masters tennis tournament, calling it sexist.
so they'll only use ugly women now? Everything's sexist nowadays, it seems. At least in the eyes of ugly women.
@African-Monkey said in Bulls v Highlanders:
It was a clear red only a biased kiwi would think otherwise.
From the two shots I've seen of it I think a red is harsh.
Whilst I admit my bias I think your reaction maybe a bit Marshallesque.
Naholo has always been a bit clumsy, that was a bit harsh IMO. When you see an impact coming, your shoulder is gonna help self preservation so you adjust for the shoulder to take the impact, thus making heavier impact with the shoulder, therefore shoulder charge and red card...I think red was inevitable but still harsh IMO.
Watching the recording.
Hell that red was harsh!!
Was hardly a penalty. Well under previous interpretations. A yellow is a stretch.
Yeah the new high contact interpretation may have come into play but I struggle with being sent off for an inadvertent collision.
He had every right to expect to make a tackle. In fact if the Bulls player had held the ball he would have cleaned him up.
@taniwharugby pitch was great! Real rugby 
Thanks @taniwharugby for the link, good to see the highlights. Plenty of slomo replays of Naholo - for me, I can see why it's a red under the new law interpretations, but it was a red for being clumsy more than anything. Both players reacted to the ball in the air, and it was unfortunate that the shoulder hit the chin.
As for the Bulls player going full noise into a Landers player in the ruck - that was a red all day. Shades of Bakkies Botha a few years ago, but didn't leave the ref much choice.
Not much chatter about Fekitoa's insane run to score the winning try? A 50 m effort, sensational stuff.
WTF. So I just watched that now - how is that a red? African Monkey was doing his nut about it last night (but I'd missed it on my feed and couldn't be arsed getting up to go watch on TV) so I thought it would be an easy clear red. It looked like a brace for impact after he missed the ball but looked worse due to the slow mo. It only looked worse because the point of contact with the Bulls player was the chin. If he wasn't reaching for the ball it would have been a shoulder on shoulder.
Things are getting stupid.
@taniwharugby said in Bulls v Highlanders:
@nzzp everyone loves to hate on Fekitoa...if he can sort his offence, the dudes workrate on d is top notch
Fekitoa hasn't been playing well more than he's hated I think.
It's funny, when he first burst on the scene it was for his attack and his defence was iffy, now it's reveresed.
@Nepia said in Bulls v Highlanders:
WTF. So I just watched that now - how is that a red? African Monkey was doing his nut about it last night (but I'd missed it on my feed and couldn't be arsed getting up to go watch on TV) so I thought it would be an easy clear red. It looked like a brace for impact after he missed the ball but looked worse due to the slow mo. It only looked worse because the point of contact with the Bulls player was the chin. If he wasn't reaching for the ball it would have been a shoulder on shoulder.
Things are getting stupid.
You are clearly a biased New Zealander
@Nepia said in Bulls v Highlanders:
WTF. So I just watched that now - how is that a red? African Monkey was doing his nut about it last night (but I'd missed it on my feed and couldn't be arsed getting up to go watch on TV) so I thought it would be an easy clear red. It looked like a brace for impact after he missed the ball but looked worse due to the slow mo. It only looked worse because the point of contact with the Bulls player was the chin. If he wasn't reaching for the ball it would have been a shoulder on shoulder.
The contact was probably similar to the last video - A Hurricane on Foley in Super Rugby. World Rugby has redefined the threshold - shoulder to head, even if accidental --> red UNLESS mitigation is there.
Basicaly, they are trying to stop exactly that sort of contact. RIghtly or wrongly - but bad news for Naholo
I think that Naholo was straight red, no question. I don't care what he thought he was doing, at the last moment he decided to turn his shoulder in. If the Bulls guy had caught it, what was Naholo going to do other than a high tackle, coming in like that?
You can hardly say the ref was biased when he then not only red carded Bulls player, but stopped the likely winning try to do so.
@Chester-Draws see him turning his shoulder is more out of self preservation and bracing for impact rather than anything malice.
As I said above, harsh to get a RC, but unfortunately RC was the only outcome from shoulder to head.
Was it the Welsh tour last year he got carded, similar clumsiness (man in the air)
@African-Monkey said in Bulls v Highlanders:
@Nepia A shoulder to the head is a straight red. It was reckless from Naholo accidental or not and he got what he deserved.
If it was a Bulls player who did it you guys would all be calling for it to be red as well.
I'd really like to think I wouldn't
@booboo said in Bulls v Highlanders:
@African-Monkey said in Bulls v Highlanders:
@Nepia A shoulder to the head is a straight red. It was reckless from Naholo accidental or not and he got what he deserved.
If it was a Bulls player who did it you guys would all be calling for it to be red as well.
I'd really like to think I wouldn't
Yep, me either, as I said earlier I think it's getting stupid.
@African-Monkey I'm not even a Naholo fan, I don't like the way he plays and think he should be playing for Fiji.
@nzzp I think that TR explains the mitigation - clearly Naholo wasn't setting out to to shoulder the Bulls player, he's got his hands out for the ball. If anyone wants to claim that he was setting out to do that they're lying to themselves. Now, if WR, that fountain of wisdom want to deem that accidental clashes meet the threshold of a red card then that's up to them, I'm going to call them idiots for that.
@Stargazer said in Bulls v Highlanders:
@hydro11 The suspension might be different though.
That's true. I do think some of the suspensions handed out are way too short. I'm incredibly frustrated by players meeting the red card threshold and then receiving a two week suspension.
@Nepia said in Bulls v Highlanders:
Now, if WR, that fountain of wisdom want to deem that accidental clashes meet the threshold of a red card then that's up to them, I'm going to call them idiots for that.
I think that is what they're saying. We may not like it but like the maul laws, them's the farking laws.
Be bloody careful is the answer. What was normal rugby incidents is now card material. THe effects have been talked about up north, and we've seen it with some 'interesting' kick-chase calls. Hope it doesn't affect the upcoming Lions series, but quite concerned that it will.
Just saw the incident. Looked to me like Naholo was going for the ball, saw the man in front of him and dropped his shoulder to protect himself from the impact. Split second reaction but a reckless one, so I have no issue with the red card.
Second incident was way worse though.
Naholo actually threw his shoulder into the impact, how insane do you have to be to think he was going for the ball? Sure he may have been initially but once the ball was gone he recklessly tucked the arm and threw his shoulder. He doesn't do that, he doesn't get a card. It's pretty fucking simple. But then we can't have a misguided whinge at WR....