Rugby videos of tackles, tries, funny incidents and more: Henry Tuilagi strikes again

Monday, October 26, 2009

Henry Tuilagi strikes again - Big hit on Lionel Beauxis

Coincidentally, today we have another clip with Stade Francais flyhalf Lionel Beauxis. Sadly for him though, it's not a clip showing his superb skill, but rather him almost having his head taken off by the Samoan monster that is Henry Tuilagi.

Stade Francais and Perpignan met in the Top 14 at the Stade de France on Saturday. Many expected the hosts to beat last years champions based on their recent form, but it was Perpignan who won the match 20-14.

Tuilagi, who recently got away without as much as a talking to for his huge hit on Ben Foden, wasn't so lucky this time as he smashed the unfortunate Beauxis.

This is another one that could be up for debate, as Beauxis did go down pretty low into the tackle, with Tuilagi going for his trademark hit that's normally aimed around chest height.

Should the tackler adjust according to the movement of the attacking player, or is it fair to penalise and yellow card a guy when he's already committed to the hit? High is high some will say.

I'd say in the case of Henry Tuilagi though, his reputation precedes him, so the referee didn't waste any time in showing him the way to the sideline.

Time: 01:33
Discuss: Join the Rugbydump Forum to give your thoughts on this and other incidents.

First!!!!!!!
I was in the stadium, and it looked perfectly legal from where I stood.
He also made a few monster runs and always looked dangerous.
Well... violent might be a more suitable term lol

By Oli, at October 26, 2009 4:51 pm
i agree that it's a high tackle, but doesn't deserve a yellow card on my opinion. What a shame, thinking that if Tuilagi had just gone a few inches lower, it would have been a superb samoan-style crunching tackle.

By Swissvinch, at October 26, 2009 4:55 pm
A bit unlucky there.

It looks worse than it was because of their size difference I think.

By Clinomaniac, at October 26, 2009 5:11 pm
For GOD'S SAKE. Stop penalising this man for FAIR TACKLES. I'm SICK of referees turnung our game into a peewee sport. COME OOOOOOON gimme a BREAK!!!!!!!!

By Alexander, at October 26, 2009 5:16 pm
That's high. No debate.

Yellow? Perhaps a tad harsh, didn't look malicious as there wasn't a swinging arm, but you can't really complain at the decision. High is high, you always run the risk.

By Edbok, at October 26, 2009 5:16 pm
told ya ... that's what you get in France.

Perfectly legal in Australia, NZ, England ...but in France "vi don't accept zis"
Beauxis is low on his feet while Tuilagi is still a big man...even though he's wrapping his arms.

An english ref would probably say it's legal... Morgan Para is still alive to testify :P (cf european cup last year)

By jay, at October 26, 2009 5:16 pm
Alright, seriously, you guys need to check the laws, there's nothing legal about this tackle at all, he wraps Beauxis' head for crying out loud. I don't think this deserved a card, as it was obviously unintentional, but certainly a telling off. This protesting against penalties due to rugby 'turning into a peewee sport' is getting really old. Laws are laws, and a high tackle is just that, no matter how tall the tackler is compared to the ball carrier. If Tuilagi doesn't want any more cards, he can start getting lower, it's not as if he's the only big man in rugby.

By istya, at October 26, 2009 5:27 pm
I think Jay ^^ is right, the French do like to milk it after getting floored in any way which could be deemed borderline just to give them a potential advantage, be it a penalty, yellow or red card.

I think its a bit unfair to give him 10 in the bin, but I can understand why the ref did so; the tackle happened so quickly and in such close quarters. Beauxis got low and I dont think Tuilagi had the space to get as low (and I doubt he probably expected the contact to be so low).

Again, I believe the yellow was a bit harsh but, these referees dont have the advantage of watching numerous angles of the hit in slow mo before making their professional decisions.

I cant really see anybody at fault here, regardless whether Beauxis milked it a bit, I would understand any ref making the same calls under the same circumstances.

By Anonymous, at October 26, 2009 5:37 pm
Firstly to all those people trying to make themselves sound hard by saying the sport is turning soft etc etc. Rugby isn't a competition to be the hardest person. Do you realise how stupid you sound? Be realistic. Please.

My opinion is that it was harsh though and didn't deserve a yellow. But again he has a reputation. You don't build a reputation for no reason so you've got to take the rough with he smooth.

By Andy, at October 26, 2009 5:52 pm
i thought beauxis was milking this a bit on first watch, but the replay proved me wrong! tuilagi was very unlucky to get carded, beauxis lowered his head into the tackler's shoulder...and poor henry can't control the movement of lionel's head just like he can't control being a monster tackler.

By kevinb, at October 26, 2009 5:53 pm
It's High! I'm puzzled by the people here maintaining it's not. Do people want players to get injured?

Sure Beauxis dips a little into contact, players do, run high get smashed, but at the point of contact the tackler hits above the shoulder and his arms then wrap around the head.
A yellow is harsh as it seems Tuilagi intended to hit legally. His hit on Foden is a peach, there's no need for him to hit this high...
Responsibility has to lie with the tackler ("but he dipped" doesn't cut it) and Tuilagi has no one else to blame if this is a yellow

By Hackney Griffin, at October 26, 2009 5:57 pm
A simple thought having played both on british fields as well as french :
Do not come in contact with the head.

In other words and no matter how low the tackled man is, there will be a penalty and sometimes a yellow as soon as as your shoulder hits the guy's face.
Example : Bergamasco last week-end (people are still yelling on how unjustified the yellow was), Para last year... and then our little guys who often get it coz of their size : Teulé, Dominici, Ellisalde etc...
Burger would have gotten a penatly for his recent hit on Dupreez in France. In SA, perfectly legal...

By jay, at October 26, 2009 6:01 pm
noone can deny lionel ducked into the hit, not a yellow definately, penalty maximum i reckon.

By tom, at October 26, 2009 6:12 pm
Is it just me or does Tuilagi follow on after the tackle, trying to put his hands on Beauxis' face?

By Blegh, at October 26, 2009 6:35 pm
It doesn't help that it was a French ref - they're not afraid to pull out a yellow and are usually quite quick to do so.

By lacka, at October 26, 2009 6:36 pm
obviously no malicious intent but was high nonetheless. i would agree with the ref whether he called it or did not call it.

By Flankaaa, at October 26, 2009 6:38 pm
Opinions can differ but as a rule of thumb, even if a player lowers himself, I think the referee must penalize tackles that grab the head, even if they just rattle it...

It is the tackler's responsability to get the player in a safe way, either tackling lower, or tackling sideways rather than head on...

One day we will get a big injury from a player being decapitated and we will all regret it.

To all those who want to sound manly and hard, well some basic rules of safety will allow the players we like to enjoy longer carreers...

By Anonymous, at October 26, 2009 6:55 pm
Who was the frenc speaker ? He has an incredible accent ! Who is he ?

By Anonymous, at October 26, 2009 7:14 pm
Jay, you fukin racist pig, stop telling craps. This has nothing to do with the fact that it's french or whatever. It's not a legal hit cause Tuilagi's got his arm around Beauxis' head, that's all, end of the debate. And Burger's hit on Du Preez wouldn't have been penalized in France cause it's perfecty legal, he doesn't wrap DuPreez' head. Stop telling craps about the french you're an ignorant and a lier

By Anonymous, at October 26, 2009 7:22 pm
The problem here is the high risk tackles, borderline illegal that tuilagi performs...

this one was definitly borderline, the ref judge it as illegal.. nothing to say about it, certainly not malicious.

for me, it was legal, unlucky for beauxis as he lowered is body and got hit.

By lazaro, at October 26, 2009 7:26 pm
It's not about whether it's legal or not. It's about a fucking idiot referee giving out an unjust yellow card.

Everyone can agree it's a penalty. But there was NOTHING malicious.

The yellow card is ridiculous, and THAT is why rugby is turning soft.

By Anonymous, at October 26, 2009 7:48 pm
"Everyone can agree it's a penalty. But there was NOTHING malicious. "

Sums up nicely thumbs up

By JLH, at October 26, 2009 7:53 pm
It was not deserving of a yellow, since Beauxis ducked at the last second before the tackle, and therefore debatable whether it was a penalty or not. The thing is though, in real time, everyone just automatically assumes that Tuilagi was at fault. The commentator was saying that it was high until the replay came on. I have a bit of sympathy for the ref.

I agree with istya by the way. People like 'Alexander' who say stupid stuff like that referees are turning rugby into a peewee sport because of penalties and cards, they just sound like complete idiots. It sounds like they're trying to prove that they're so hard and strong, and that they can take care of themselves without the need for referees, but they're on an internet chat forum. Nobody cares if you're 'hard' or not.

By Kearney for tests, at October 26, 2009 7:54 pm
My god, imagine getting tackled by him. I'm pretty sure i would be hospitalized for a month... at least!

By Johan, at October 26, 2009 8:20 pm
....ok..um, i really dont get people defending this tackle (notice i didnt say anything about the player....please take note Tommo!)

I agree with a lot of people that a yellow is harsh, but this is a high tackle....if a player ducks into a tackle the referee might rule it as accidental but it is a high tackle... ABOVE THE SHOULDERS IS A HIGH TACKLE!!! that was contact with the head!!!

Anyway, we all know that referee's are different, we have all played and we have all had harsh ref's and less harsh ones, this was the ref's call....

Anyway, in reality, would you rather a lenient ref in a match? e.g. a ref that lets a lot of things go? i think not!!!

Also, Jay saying "Perfectly legal in Australia, NZ, England" .......you are wrong! If the ref is any good this tackle will result in a penalty.

so to sum up, tuilagi is cutting it fine with the two seen tackles, but these are only a few out of many regular tackles that he makes, he was unlucky to be carded for this, but it happens, and the tackle was illegal!

By No.7, at October 26, 2009 8:34 pm
"The yellow card is ridiculous, and THAT is why rugby is turning soft."

If that's your gripe, then rugby's been turning soft for quite some time.

Some yc's (and citings) are ridiculous. Some are borderline. This one isn't really. High tackles for many years already have been looked at as more serious offences. Correctly so, in my view.

This was a high tackle, and whilst we can all quibble over malice etc, the ref has one look only at the incident. The tackle was high, and when you tackle the Tuilagi does, you will pick up your share of cards, some more deserved than others. But you will get them because high tackles aren't popular. People who play the game know why.

By Edbok, at October 26, 2009 8:38 pm
It was a good hit.Sorry about the card,Beauxis did duck into it.

By Grayditch, at October 26, 2009 8:42 pm
Now that is a brick wall tackle!

By Maximus, at October 26, 2009 8:50 pm
The tackle is aimed at the chest, however Beaxis lowers his head and therefore it became unintentional high. I have to agree that there seems to be some Italian football tactics entering the game. The ref should have asked the video ref to have a look. Defenitly not a yellow...

By Obed, at October 26, 2009 9:25 pm
completely agree with istya and kearney for tests.

By Ireland for world cup 2011!!!, at October 26, 2009 9:34 pm
That looks unlucky more than malicious. Penalty but no need for a yellow!

By Anonymous, at October 26, 2009 9:53 pm
Not much in that one at all.
Yellow is ridiculous.
Once again we see that the refs in the T14 are not up to scratch.
Maybe a penalty for a high tackle, though even that's debatable, as he hits him on the chest and his arms slide up, Lionel also ducks into the tackle.
Penalty (without a card) would have been fair I think.

By Jon, at October 26, 2009 10:02 pm
what are you people on about HE DUCKED INTO THE TACKLE!!!!! Tuilagi was already commited to tackling him and if he ran and stood up str8 instead of going low he wouldnt of been hit like that how is tuilagi supposed 2 change his angle if hes alreeady commited??? hes looking dwn and then the other guy ducks into his shoulder what a joke of a dicision... nothing can stop tuilagi hahaha

By Anonymous, at October 26, 2009 10:26 pm
anonymous above is right, he did duck in to the tackle. Soon enough players will be going into contact with their noses brushing the grass and then getting penalties for high tackles. Rugby is getting to stage where players are trying to manipulate the referees. Hope it stops soon!

By Anonymous, at October 26, 2009 10:32 pm
If beauxis ducks what the hell is tuilagi supposed to do?
Harsh card imo

By WelshOsprey, at October 26, 2009 10:35 pm
Ha yeah I may have over-reacted there. I blame my masters course. DON'T DO A MASTERS!!!!
But I do feel the tackle was good. NOT trying to sound 'hard' (seriously, pretty stupid accusation), but to me tackles like that where all things being equal (i.e. Beauxis not ducking) woulda turned out like Banahans (which we all agreed was fair) should stand as good!!! Soooooo.........

By Alexander, at October 26, 2009 10:45 pm
I hope you all have your tutus sized. We are going to be wearing them sooner than expected.

By Anonymous, at October 26, 2009 11:22 pm
No 7, I do notice. It's not about the individuals as such, jsut that when English players do this kind of thing, no one has a problem.
But that's neither here nor there.
Whoever it was hit it on the head when he said that this wouldn't have been a penalty in Australia or NZ.
It wouldn't have been, it would have been considered a good hit.
Maybe a penalty by a particularly pedantic ref.
Nothing more.
Cards down here are for outrageous tackles that are intended to injure or repeated infringements of the same nature to prevent a scoring opportunity for the other team.
That's about all.

By Tommo, at October 26, 2009 11:33 pm
how can u tackle a midget???

By Anonymous, at October 27, 2009 12:09 am
It is the tackled players responsibility to tackle the player legally. It was a penalty but a yellow card is harsh, but lets remeber people, we get to see this as many times as we like from 3 angles and in slow-mo. The ref gets 1 angle at real speed. Lets be realistic.

If you want aimless charging go watch American Football

By Anonymous, at October 27, 2009 12:12 am
Good tackle, but he is just so incredible big, it looks like he is doing it illegally - it is his strength. The Tuilagis are just big people!

By 2122, at October 27, 2009 1:46 am
serves him right for not running straight and hard.

panzy prancing light footer

By chris, Aust, at October 27, 2009 3:15 am
Have to love all our hard men here. The icing on the cake has to be one of the anon above stating that soon players will be ducking on purpose to get high tackled and play the ref. It's true. Players will obviously get high-tackled purposely to get a penalty or get the opponent to the bin. Yeah right. Ever been on a rugby field before? Ever been tackled too high? Ever felt the pain? As many here I suspect, I have. As to do it on purpose: I don't think so. Idiot.
While I'm ranting, I'm French, played in France and England and now live in New Zealand. While it makes me appreciate differences between styles of play and of referring, it doesn't make me a know-it-all rugby master as some people here obviously think they are. Stop the BS with the French milking it. It would have been an illegal hit and at least a penalty anywhere. This hard-men thingy is tiresome. Sports have rules. There are many ways to slam and hurt the opponent with a perfectly legal tackle.

Back to the clip, thanks RD. As far as I'm concerned: high tackle, no need for a yellow though. Tuilagi got unlucky and unfortunately for him, his reputation preceded him. Fully agree with Flankaaa. Would be happy with whatever call the ref would have made.

By Nico, at October 27, 2009 8:41 am
silly running by beauxis. crap dummy, he had to have known what was waiting for him.

By Spartacus, at October 27, 2009 9:54 am
"racist pig" "ignorant and a liar" si ca fait pas avancer les choses ca c'est beau ^^
Just telling my feeling about it...
Agresssivity is always easier behind a computer than on a field ^^ hit and run coward.

By jay, at October 27, 2009 10:09 am
this wasnt high at all, if u look at 1:03, tuilagi's shoulder just hits beauxis' shoulder, beauxis slips and at that camera angle you can tell that tuilagi is wrapping. his arms only hit beauxis' head the wrap wasnt tight enough...

By meatyq, at October 27, 2009 10:55 am
Tommo is the hardest blogger i've ever come across.

By Anonymous, at October 27, 2009 11:21 am
Didn't deserve a yellow, Beauxis was very low, and Tuilagi would have hit him around the chest otherwise. Plus there was definately arms being wrapped as well.

Harsh.....for once

By Fridge, at October 27, 2009 12:36 pm
....GUYS, what video are you watching? im in a hurry so i'll comment in more detail later, but it is clear in the first replay that Tuilagi's shoulder hits Lionel's head!! that is the first contact his shoulder makes?!

No malice, and not a yellow, but cards are at the refs discretion (to a point) and if he deemed it a yellow its his choice, at the end of the day it was a HIGH TACKLE which hey, if you read the rules, is ILLEGAL!....

By No.7, at October 27, 2009 12:49 pm
time someone gets him back :D

By sebastian, at October 27, 2009 1:27 pm
Whatever, I never said I was hard, it's not about that. Obviously I'm incredibly hard. ;)
The thing is ten years ago, there's no way this would ever have been considered a yellow card offence. NO WAY.
The game has changed, and I don't think this constant yellow card thing is good for the game.
Firstly, head high tackles happen, by accident, all the time. They will always happen. Everyone has done them or been hit.
They should be penalised.
Yellow is ridiculous for a tackle like this though. Ridiculous. It was barely high, he hit him chest to chest, but he's a lot taller and the guy he's tackling ducks into the tackle. So it's marginally high. A penalty, no more. Even a penalty is maybe harsh, a lot of good refs would let this go.
But a yellow for this? Way over the top.
If it were just an isolated incident, you'd say it was the ref, but it's not, it's a trend that's creeping into the game.
Cards should be for very dangerous tackles or foul play, and mostly only for those done intentionally.
That or a team infringing repeatedly, same offense, after being warned.
Hits like this will happen, always. It's the nature of the game.
It would be a disaster if we carded everyone for accidental head highs. And this thing with shoulders, jesus, that's even worse. Just let them play.

By Tommo, at October 27, 2009 1:59 pm
jay,

Being sanctimonious here is easy too.

Claiming something (as played rugby in Britain and France) here is easy too.

Putting some cheap statements based on nationality here is an old practice and really easy too.

Well, that's funny to see some chaps here love to play the internet big boys.

By Santana, at October 27, 2009 3:14 pm
he shouldn't ve grabbed the head after the hit.. but no yellow

penalty was fine, more unlucky than anything else

By Cheis, at October 27, 2009 3:34 pm
its a high tackle but as commentators say, beauxis was leaning forward and tuilahgi is a big man but it would still've been high on someone else
>penalty, no yellow card

i LOVE the pink predators thhe stade francais staff wear <3 i want them !!

By luxi, at October 27, 2009 3:44 pm
@Santana : I'm just debating and I'm not here to curse at anyone or anything... just giving out my opinion on things I see and things I've experienced...Being a ref within a championship has nothing to do with nationalities vut rather style and culture but not here to brag too long.

@luxi :As for the SF shoes you can get them in France for 40 euros... they had promotions a while back

By jay, at October 27, 2009 4:20 pm
ouchhh

By Unknown, at October 27, 2009 4:51 pm
Jay,

"told ya ... that's what you get in France. Perfectly legal in Australia, NZ, England ...but in France "vi don't accept zis""

"Burger would have gotten a penatly for his recent hit on Dupreez in France. In SA, perfectly legal..."

Would you call those sentences debating ? And answering to a useless comment full of insults is far away from debating.

About Tuilagi and Beauxis, the first hit was legal shoulder vs shoulder, but HT grabbed the head after, penalty is fair but not the yellow card.

After as show the different comments here, it's a question of interpretation of rugby rules.

By Santana, at October 27, 2009 5:17 pm
Does anyone know were i can get the top that top that he is wearing? i cant find it anywere! thanks

By Anonymous, at October 27, 2009 8:03 pm
i thought the rules where if a player ducks when going into contact, then the hit is legal as the ball carrier has made the decision to duck the tackle. (and failed in this case)

By Anonymous, at October 28, 2009 6:11 pm
As the Great Tana Umaga said"This is not tiddlywinks".

By Grayditch, at October 28, 2009 7:08 pm
I dont understand....how can people say this tackle would be legal in Australia etc....was this not a high tackle? is a high tackle not illegal? aren't referee's put in place so that the rules are followed? therefore doesn't that say a lot for Australian and NZ etc refs?

'Yeh, stamping on someone is illegal but cos we're hard in Aus, NZ, etc the referee's let it go....'

By No.7, at October 29, 2009 12:33 am
I guess what I was saying is that in Australia or NZ a ref would understand that this was a minor incident.
Tuilagi tried to to tackle him hard but legally, and he got him marginally high. He would usually understand that it was an accidental head high, if a head high at all, that Tuilagi slipped up and the French fella ducked into the tackle.
Quite a few refs would let it slide, others it would be a penalty, but just a penalty, no more than that.
A yellow for this is way over the top. Massive over-reaction, and it seems to be happening more and more, particularly in the T14.

By Tommo, at October 29, 2009 1:15 am
Question:
=========
What if Tuilagi hadn't tried to wrap Beauxis and gotten his head because he was driving forward and Beauxis was falling?

Answer:
=======
Illegal tackle, shoulder charge, didn't try to wrap, dangerous, the rules state.... blah blah blah.

By RememberTheMer, at October 31, 2009 1:32 am
I agree this doesnt warrant a yellow, but it warrants a penalty for the simple fact it was high (no malice but it was high!!)

By No.7, at November 02, 2009 3:50 pm