Reds' Tupou cited for alleged foul play

[The InnFORCEr]

March 21, 2022 6:37AM


Wallabies prop Taniela Tupou has been cited for alleged dangerous play in the Queensland Reds' Super Rugby Pacific loss to the Brumbies on Friday night.

Commentators felt Tupou effected a perfect clean-out at a ruck but SANZAR's citing commissioner deemed the incident had met the red card threshold for foul play.

Tupou's case will be heard via video conference by the foul play review committee on Monday night.

He is facing a one-match suspension if found guilty and could miss Saturday night's clash with the NSW Waratahs in Brisbane.

https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/ru...play-c-6143648

[GIGS20]

Hardly the first time the Commentators have rigorously defended a Reds player who has committed foul play.

[Hansie]

Honestly, it was a clean out. If Tupou tried to go any lower he would have dredged up half the pitch.

[palitu]

https://www.rugby.com.au/news/brumbi...l-play-2022320

there iis a video there. i think he may go for it. led with the should, no arms in it. What i think will see him go, is that there is a glancing blow to the brumbies head (you can see his hair flick just before the shoulder to shoulder contact). if there was arms in, would have been fine, but he led with his arm tucked.

big hit, but needed to wrap.

[GIGS20]

https://www.rugby.com.au/news/brumbi...l-play-2022320

there iis a video there. i think he may go for it. led with the should, no arms in it. What i think will see him go, is that there is a glancing blow to the brumbies head (you can see his hair flick just before the shoulder to shoulder contact). if there was arms in, would have been fine, but he led with his arm tucked.

big hit, but needed to wrap.

Agreed, he would be wise to take the early plea and halve the sanction.

Once cited, I can't see any chance of him arguing his way out of it.

[shasta]

Honestly, it was a clean out. If Tupou tried to go any lower he would have dredged up half the pitch.

From memory there was another issue (injury?) which stopped play. I thought at the time he might have been lucky to escape notice. Match review got him. The thing that caught my eye was just as Palitu describes it. A year or two ago I wouldn't have thought about it. But player welfare is going to stay a big focus and we are all going to have to get used to it and just hope some common sense flexibility is excercised.

I remember forecasting this on here years ago when the issue CTE hit the NFL. Rex Messup was up me for the rent. Such dinosaurs are facing another extinction event . Rather that than the game going down the same road.

[The InnFORCEr]

Reds to fight Tupou's SANZAAR sanction
Murray Wenzel
March 22, 2022 9:01AM


The Queensland Reds will fight Taniela Tupou's retrospective charge of foul play after SANZAAR found the pivotal prop had met the red card threshold during a clean-out against the Brumbies.

A bullocking Tupou shunted Jahrome Brown from the ruck in the first half of the Reds' tight loss in Canberra, referee Damon Murphy reviewing and clearing him of any discretion at the time.

The incident still found its way to Monday night's SANZAAR Foul Play Review Committee after further inspection of the footage had deemed it a red card offence for high contact.

That opinion was upheld, the Reds set to fight the charge on Wednesday night after knocking back what is understood to be a two-week suspension with an early guilty plea.

If unsuccessful, the Wallabies enforcer will, at minimum, miss Saturday's Suncorp Stadium home game against the NSW Waratahs and the spicy return of the Brumbies to Brisbane a week later.

The decision compounded frustrations at Ballymore given Fraser McReight's failed chase of a ball for the match-winning try was not reviewed, despite clear evidence he had been obstructed.

The 16-12 loss dropped the Reds to 4-1 this season with the Waratahs (3-2) able to jump ahead of them into second on the Super Rugby Pacific ladder with a win on Saturday.

https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/ru...tion-c-6158496

[palitu]

yeah, thought so. it hit the head (just!) and no arm in it. interesting that they are going to try and fight it.

[GIGS20]

yeah, thought so. it hit the head (just!) and no arm in it. interesting that they are going to try and fight it.

Even more interesting that they won.

I had a discussion with one of the ref members of another unnamed rugby forum (who happens to be a Reds fan but that didn't bother me) I said Tupou failed to bind, was that considered foul play? No it isn't, so that doesn't activate a head contact protocol, Did he use arms? I guess to push Brown out of the ruck, which could be seen as clearing the ball and incidental head contact in that action would be a ref's call. Did he immediately leave his feet and lie all over the ruck? yes, but he stood up pretty quickly and nobody was in a position to take advantage.

Honestly, I think it was a penalty, not worthy of a card under anything other than dangerous play. If you call that one dangerous play, you'll need to stop 95% of cleanouts, because there aren't many other ways to do it, Tupou was just more devastating in doing it. (plus, we all now have something to point at if one of our props does the same thing to Brown tonight