Blues coach Leon MacDonald was at a loss to explain the incident in which wing Caleb Clarke was shown a red card for making contact with Moana Pasifika counterpart Tomasi Alosio’s head at Eden Park on Saturday night.
Alosio was also said to be at a loss to explain it – he has no memory of the incident in the 52nd minute of the Blues' 46-16 victory, a sickening accidental clash between Clarke's right knee and the left side of Alosio's head which occurred as Clarke attempted to charge down his opposite's kick.
Clarke, an All Black with an impeccable record as far as foul play is concerned, leaped at the same time as Alosio's kick and had eyes only for the ball, but rugby's law interpretations around contact with the head now give no leeway for intentions.
It was also part of a string of red cards over four Super Rugby matches, starting with Blues prop Nepo Laulala's dismissal for making contact with a Moana Pasifika opponent’s head at Mt Smart Stadium last Tuesday and including Crusaders hooker Shilo Klein’s late in his team’s win over the Highlanders in Christchurch on Friday. On Saturday night, Reds loose forward Tuaina Tualima also saw red for a high cleanout on Brumbies front rower James Slipper.
Clarke's was an ugly one and deemed reckless by referee James Doleman, but a lack of similar incidents (and sanctions) around the world may make deciding how long Clarke’s inevitable suspension lasts was one of MacDonald’s immediate thoughts.
“You can understand why they called it a red card,” MacDonald said. “There was contact with the head and it’s about player safety and that’s important. I understand that. And you look at Caleb and he’s trying to charge the ball down and wasn’t too far from getting it. In my whole career I’ve watched players do that and we haven’t seen that sort of contact. It’s probably his fault for being so athletic and jumping so high.
“I’ll be interested in seeing the feedback from the referees and what that looks like because Caleb will need to change his technique… because obviously it didn’t end well.
“I haven’t seen that happen before and I’ve watched a lot of rugby.
“I feel sorry for Caleb because there’s no malice in it – he’s genuinely trying to charge the ball down and here he is on the sideline. It’s a tough call but I’m not disagreeing with it.
“I’m not sure what to say to Caleb – I don’t think it was reckless, I just think it was unfortunate.”
Moana Pasifika’s assistant coach Dale MacLeod said: “There was no malice in it… if you know Caleb, there’s no malice in him, he wouldn’t intentionally try to maim someone.
“He can remember the call – the move we were running,” MacLeod said of Alosio, who earlier had scored his team’s only try of the match. “But as soon as he got the ball, then bang, he can’t remember anything. I just talked to him in the shed then. He’s good as gold - he’s had a shower, he’s got a bit of a swollen face, but he can’t remember anything post catching the ball and running down the short side.”
The controversial incident marred what was a valuable bonus point victory for the Blues, which put them up to fourth on the table behind the third-placed Crusaders.
MacDonald’s men showed far greater set piece efficiency and their lineout drive was a weapon Moana Pasifika were unable to counter. Hooker Kurt Eklund was a major beneficiary when scoring a hat-trick of tries.
It was also the first time without a limit on spectators at Eden Park, and the vibrancy among the crowd, many of whom were supporting the cross-town visitors, suggested this will be a highly-anticipated fixture for years to come.
The Blues marked it with a haka – their first such challenge since the British and Irish Lions tour of 2017.
“The haka was a sign of respect to welcome them,” MacDonald said. “We felt it was important. It was also to say we were up to the challenge that they were bringing and we wanted to respect that as well.
“This is a new rivalry of the two local teams and it set the tone at the start. Hopefully this rivalry will keep flourishing and growing because it’s great to have them here. They showed today they belong in this competition and they did on Tuesday as well. They’re only going to get stronger.”
SHARE ME