Ardie Savea has come under fire from the rugby community after using a throat-slitting gesture towards an opponent as he left the field for a yellow card in the Hurricanes' 39-33 win over the Rebels this evening.
After a stellar first half for the Wellington outfit, in which he scored twice and set up another for Josh Moorby, Savea's hard work came undone following an altercation between the two sides off a failed Rebels lineout maul near the Hurricanes' line after the halftime hooter had sounded.
The altercation, sparked by Dane Coles and Rebels lock Josh Canham heading to the deck effectively wrestling each other, saw players from both sides quickly pile in with the usual jersey grabbing and words tossed about.
However referee James Doleman, after consulting the rest of the officiating team, deemed Savea had "escalated" the situation and handed the star loose forward a yellow card for his actions.
Savea attempted to defend himself after hearing of his impending sinbinning but Doleman shook it off and issued him his marching orders.
Rather than exit the field immediately, Savea interacted with Rebels halfback Ryan Louwrens before giving him the gesture - a moment that stunned commentators and Rebels players.
"He was threatening to kill him," a Rebels player could be heard saying through on-field mics as Hurricanes staff came and grabbed their skipper.
Former All Black Mils Muliana was just as perplexed by the moment, saying on the Sky Sport commentary it was "out of character" for Savea to react in such a way.
“He’s been instrumental in this game, his powerful play but also setting that try up with his ball play," Muliana said.
“He’s inspirational as well but that nine minutes [in the bin] is probably going to help the Rebels.”
Savea's gesture was met with plenty of heat online but some also questioned what had happened for him to react in such a way.
The Rebels managed to score once while Savea was off the field but the Hurricanes were made to work for their win in Melbourne after Tevita Mafileo's yellow card early in the second half for high contact was upgraded to a red card for a tucked arm that made direct contact with the head.
That allowed the Rebels to storm within one point of stealing a win from visitors but a fatal turnover in the final minutes allowed Jordie Barrett to go over in the corner for a counter-attacking final nail in the coffin.
In his post-match interview as the winning captain, Savea apologised for his actions after being booed by the crowd when he returned to the field in the second half.
"I can understand the fans are furious around the gesture that I made - it was just the heat of the moment kind of thing," Savea said.
"It's footy but I understand - kids are watching us.
"I put my hand up first and I apologise for that."
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