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Prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi has become the fifth All Black sent off in a test match, sacked by a high tackle on Wallabies wing Tom Wright in the 22nd minute of the Bledisloe Cup test in Brisbane.
It was a call made by Australian referee Nic Berry guided by Kiwi TMO Paul Williams.
In a dramatic opening to the test, Australian rookie Lachlan Swinton was fired just 12 minutes later, reducing both sides to 14 men.
Swinton, the blindside loser on his debut, got a ping for precisely the same mistake as the All Blacks mainstay.
Jono Searle / Getty Images
Ofa Tu’ungafasi of the All Blacks is sent off during the 2020 Tri-Nations match at Suncorp Stadium.
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Officials deemed the initial point of contact to be on Wright’s chin. Tu’ungafasi had Wright lined up as he ran straight towards him.
All Blacks No. 8 Ardie Savea touched Wright’s ankle, so he fell at the tackle, but officials felt there were no extenuating circumstances. Tu’ungafasi received a red card in his 39th test.
Third Pickard / AP
Referee Nic Berry shows a red card to New Zealand’s Ofa Tu’ungafasi in Brisbane on Saturday night.
Under World Rugby rules it was an illegal tackle causing head contact, where head contact is identified by clear contact with the ball carrier’s head / neck OR the head is visibly moved back from the point of contact OR ball carrier requires EIS.
Swinton did not follow the same rule when he was ejected for a similar tackle on All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock. No tackled player had to leave the field injured.
At the Australian wing at halftime, Marika Koroibete was sentenced to sin after the Wallabies awarded a series of penalties to the defense.
Jono Searle / Getty Images
Lachlan Swinton of the Wallabies addresses the band after a red card, 12 minutes after Ofa Tu’ungafasi.
Scott Barrett was the fourth All Black to be sent off in a test match after receiving a red card just before halftime in the opening round of the Bledisloe Cup last year.
French referee Jerome Garces, who also sent off Sonny Bill Williams in Wellington in 2017, gave Barrett a red card after an armless tackle to Wallabies captain Michael Hooper.
Cyril Brownlie (1925), Colin Meads (1967) and Williams are the only other All Blacks sent off.
