“Come on! We’re not playing touch here!”
That was the line from Phil Kearns as FOX Sports replays showed Adam Coleman heaving in from the side to smash into Conor Murray at a ruck near the Australian tryline, 42 minutes into and absorbing contest.
We’ve all heard biased commentary in our time but the FOX analysis on Peter O’Mahony’s game-ending injury takes the bunt cake.
O’Mahony and Wallabies fullback duelled for the ball, in the air, on three occasions in the opening half hour of Ireland’s Third Test victory, in Sydney. Ireland were trying to negate Folau’s threat by lifting jumpers into the air to contest with the excellent Folau.
O’Mahony had three crash landings and both the first and third looked particularly painful.
Credit: FOX SportsMatch referee Pascal Gauzere initially looked content to allow the game to continue but, with O’Mahony down getting treatment and vice-captain Johnny Sexton asking for the challenge to be reviewed, he went to the Television Match Official. Slow motion replays suggested Folau did give O’Mahony a slight bump and he was sent to the sin-bin for the remainder of the half.
Ireland used the man advantage well to go from level at 6-6 to leading 12-9 at the break.
During the pause in battle, the incident was reviewed by the Australian broadcasters and the consensus was that Folau was hard done by. Former Australian players George Gregan and Drew Mitchell joined host Mick McCardle, who suggested fans would be flinging objects at their TV screens after those yellow card decisions.
First up, the Jacob Stockdale yellow for his leading fore-arm into the gullet of Nick Phipps. Mitchell, McCardle and Gregan all agreed with that one but lamented how Australia could not make the man advantage count. On the Ulster winger, Gregan said:
“It wasn’t his intent to break his [Phipp’s] jaw, but you can’t lead with the elbow.”
It must be noted that former Munster and Ireland flanker Alan Quinlan, who was commentating on the game for Sky Sports, also had no issues with the Stockdale caution.
The FOX panel then moved on to “the contentious one” – Folau’s aerial tangle with O’Mahony. Gregan asked Mitchell, who played across the back three in his career, for his take on the incident.
GREGAN: “You’re a man that used to jump in the air. What is an aerial contest, Drew?
MITCHELL: “For me, that is an aerial contest. I don’t know if that’s contentious. I think that is rubbish. As soon as Stander made the decision to lift his player, HE is taking responsibility to get that player from being in the air to the ground. It’s not Folau’s responsibility any more. Like, he can’t be responsible for someone who is being lifted into the air. It’s absolutely rubbish and unfortunately, again, a TMO is having too much impact on a Test match.
MCCARDLE: “No doubt, and I think that one will be talked about for a long time.”
CJ Stander getting tasked with the sole responsibility, there, of lifting a 107kg player into the hair to duel with a 102kg player flying towards him to tangle for possession.
The TV stills (below) will show that Stander was in a good position to lift O’Mahony. Folau did go for the ball fairly but it was him making contact with the midriff of O’Mahony – and landing where Stander was originally standing – that sparked the Ireland captain’s nasty fall.
Take a note, too, how Folau pulls on O’Mahony’s right wrist as he is landing, forcing O’Mahony to tilt back and making the landing much worse than it should have been.
World Rugby has stated that Folau’s actions will see him face a disciplinary hearing.
Most rugby fans would agree that aerial contests are a welcome part of the game but blinkered commentary on the matter does no-one any favours.
Sticking this one on Stander, as Drew Mitchell attempted, is completely unnecessary and wholly unhelpful
