An innocuous shove in the face by All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock on England’s Owen Farrell proved a turning point in a shock World Cup exit for the Kiwis.
With the semi-final's scoreline at 16-7 in favour of England and only 13 minutes left, the All Blacks earned a penalty inside the English half that looked set to put them in position to launch an attack close to the line.
But after the whistle had been blown, Whitelock - in his efforts to retrieve the ball - shoved a pestering Farrell away from the ruck but did so by shoving his face.
Farrell immediately hit the deck and remained there, huddling over in a fetal position as he grasped his forehead.
The actions copped a cheeky comment from a nearby TJ Perenara, who asked Farrell if he was playing in the Premier League with the performance but it also did enough to get the attention of the TMO.
After multiple reviews, referee Nigel Owens reversed the penalty in England's favour who went on to thump the ball downfield and eventually claimed another three points to push the score to it's final mark, 19-7.
Farrell was up on his feet and immediately back in the action soon after the penalty.




















SHARE ME