Rugby videos of tackles, tries, funny incidents and more: Keven Mealamu's headbutt on Lewis Moody at Twickenham

Monday, November 08, 2010

Keven Mealamu's headbutt on Lewis Moody at Twickenham

All Blacks hooker Keven Mealamu will face a IRB judicial hearing in Glasgow tomorrow after he was cited for headbutting England’s Lewis Moody at Twickenham on Saturday. If found guilty of striking with the head, it will no doubt be the end of Mealamu’s tour.

While it wasn’t clear at first view, telelvision replays surfaced randomly a full five minutes after the incident took place as Moody looked groggy and appeared to be worse for wear from ‘something’. What the replays revealed were Mealamu holding onto the England flanks jersey, then driving into the back of his head with his own.

Citing commissioner John West of the IRB charged the New Zealand hooker with ‘striking with the head’ on Sunday, leading to a possible suspension that would see him out of the game for at least a month if found guilty.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry has come out in defense of Mealamu, saying he’s one of the cleanest players in the world. British & Irish Lions fans may well disagree with that after an incident involving Brian O’Driscoll in 2005 that still gets brought up on regular occasion.

Moody has since been suffering from ‘general soreness’ so England have brought in Tom Wood as cover ahead of their meeting with Australia this coming Saturday.

Bakkies Botha was handed a nine week ban for his headbutt on Jimmy Cowan in the Tri Nations, which doesn’t bode well for Mealamu as this appeared to be fairly similar.

An interesting aspect of this incident is the way that the commentators from the two countries had such different reactions. The English commentators naturally expressed what they saw, while there was deathly silence in the New Zealand commentary box.

Grant Nisbett in particular was one of the most outspoken during the Botha incident. "Not the smartest thing to do.. a headbutt into the back of the head," he said at the time. There was also a bit of talk back then about replays being shown over and over. It looks like the Sky Sports producers have taken a leaf out of their NZ colleagues’ book.

For interest’s sake, this video features both versions as it's probably quite amusing to some of you. Regarding the suspension though, is this as clear cut as the Botha headbutt, or could there be some kind of other explanation for what Mealamu was doing?

UPDATE: Mealamu was suspended for 4 weeks, reduced to 2 following an appeal.

Time: 01:53

Unbelievable that the Kiwi commentators didnt even mention it.

Talk about turning a blind eye.

By t0m0, at November 08, 2010 10:47 pm
that was pretty vicous.

By yoo, at November 08, 2010 10:48 pm
has to be at least nine weeks ban.c'mon IRB,lets be consistent for once

By Leeners93, at November 08, 2010 10:50 pm
Really stupid from Mealamu. Moody's dived in, played it on the ground, which certainly deserves a penalty -- but there's no need for Mealamu to add his own punishment (and running the risk of reversing the penalty and getting sent off!)

Plenty of talk here in NZ about the incident. General consensus is that he deserves what he gets (a few weeks, at least -- end of his tour, at the very least).

By noizyboy, at November 08, 2010 10:51 pm
big ban!

By Anonymous, at November 08, 2010 10:53 pm
he pulled his jersey, looked at the target then went for the kill. put his whole weight behind it, bakkies did not even try to inflict as much damage as that, If he squared him up that could have been very painful. tj

By Anonymous, at November 08, 2010 10:54 pm
See ya later Kevvy, It's Hika Elliot's time to shine!

By Anonymous, at November 08, 2010 10:54 pm
Rugbydump - please can we have footage of English and NZ commentators during Hartley's elbow.

Bet the Kiwis got up in arms about that one.

By t0m0, at November 08, 2010 10:57 pm
What a shame, i think mealamu is the only real dirty player in the AB side.
Whilst their country may be slightly arrogant about their rugby its fair to say they take pride in their game and rarely see incidents like this

By Anonymous, at November 08, 2010 10:57 pm
Disgusting behaviour on the pitch. he deserves a longer ban than Botha for this. Bothas headbutt was moronic and unthought of, this was malicious and Moody was lucky not to be KO'd.

By Josh Peett, at November 08, 2010 10:58 pm
It has to be 9 weeks at least... that is beyond Botha's moment of idiocy.

Wonder if Mealamu's anger was born of the frustration that came from the repeated beasting he was getting at the cole face?

Amazed something that blatant, involving the man holding the ball, went unpunished on the pitch. Reckon England would rather have seen the ABs down to 14 then see Mealamu banned now.

By Hackney Griffin, at November 08, 2010 10:58 pm
'he pulled his jersey, looked at the target then went for the kill. put his whole weight behind it, bakkies did not even try to inflict as much damage as that, If he squared him up that could have been very painful. tj'

Ok, he was a fool for doing it, but in comparison bakkies 'sidelined for half a career' Botha is always going to get a fuller punishment.

By Nick, at November 08, 2010 10:58 pm
It's absolutely absurd for Graham Henry and Mealamu to state that this head clash was unintentional. If it was, then I guess Bakkies Botha's clash with Cowan's head was also "unintentional".....LOL.

You have to be a complete idiot to watch this video and try and claim that it was anything other than an intentional headbutt to the back of Moody's head. He should get a 9 week ban like Botha did.

By JPM, at November 08, 2010 11:02 pm
@Leeners93... At least nine weeks? I'm pretty sure Botha got nine weeks and his was 10 times worse!

By Anonymous, at November 08, 2010 11:03 pm
And I will admit that as an England fan Dylan Hartley should definitely have got cited for his forearm to the head of McCaw...probably 2/3 weeks.

By JPM, at November 08, 2010 11:04 pm
Wow - is that representative of how commentary usually goes in NZ? That's bad. Bakkies did something similar - I presume they didn't mention that either?

By Mike, at November 08, 2010 11:06 pm
The Kiwi commentators silence is the loudest and most condemning of any comments; 9 weeks minimum to be honest looked more malicious than Botha as such should be longer.

Graham Henry you are stretching the belief of even the most dedicated fan to say that was a "head clash"

By Anonymous, at November 08, 2010 11:09 pm
New Zealand head coach Graham Henry said: "He's been cited for striking the head. It surprises me. He's probably the cleanest player in the world, isn't he? It was purely accidental as far as I know."

Hmmmmm...now imagine if the SA coach had set that after Botha headbutted Cowan in the Tri Nations. As a Bok supporter I do admire the Kiwi's game....but come on...they are the most one-eyed fans in world rugby. Of that there is no doubt.

By Fourie Fan, at November 08, 2010 11:10 pm
Lewis Moody was trying to act tough all game and he received his fair punishment for being so silly.

Kevvy will get ban for sure, but not 9 weeks. Botha lined up Cowan from behind when the ball was 20 meters away, totally different incident. Kevy was just clearing a ruck and forgot to use his arms ;-)

Botha clears the ruck with his head every game and never gets caught!

Anyway, The AB's still have Elliot and Hore, I don't think they'll be overly worried.

By Kevy is god, at November 08, 2010 11:11 pm
very dirty player

cant believe the new zealand commentators didn't say anything - biased or what? - disgraceful really.

By Anonymous, at November 08, 2010 11:15 pm
Think the silence from the NZ commentary box said it all. For Henry to say he’s one of the cleanest players in the world doesn’t bode well for the rest of them & to say it was just a head clash is laughable! Deliberate pull on the jersey then he looked & aligned his head to connect- should definately be a ban.

By Anonymous, at November 08, 2010 11:17 pm
"very dirty player"

Oh, really? Why don't you give some more incite into your claim. Come on, let's have a list of all the other off-the-ball disciplinary problems Mealamu has had. I really don't care for NZ at all, but Mealamu is not a dirty player.

By fry, at November 08, 2010 11:25 pm
If that had been Moody on anybody wearing a fern on their chest, there would have been insatiable moaning from the Kiwi box. Shows the credibility of the commentators character

By sigh.., at November 08, 2010 11:25 pm
The thing is you guys, its not just graham henry, even mealamu has denied it was intentional....

...im not a 'jump on the band wagon ban him for life' character..so dont think i have a grudge..

..but this is ridiculous...i mean what happened to 'hands up i was stupid'

siiiiigh

By (u-p)rick, at November 08, 2010 11:27 pm
What I find hard to believe is that people seem so surprised by the kiwi commentators being biased. This is the case everywhere....it's even worse in Australia and South Africa.

Should have heard the whinging poms at the pub I was at....they somehow ignored the player 3 meters offside leading up the to only England try, and refused to acknowledge it should have been called up....Bias?

We are all Bias!

Kevin should get a ban, there is no denying that. The rest of this talk is ridiculous. Wake up.

By Simon, at November 08, 2010 11:34 pm
nick said...
What a shame, i think mealamu is the only real dirty player in the AB side.

Wrong, he is widely regarded as a tough but fair player.

Fourie Fan said...
Kiwis are the most one-eyed fans in world rugby. Of that there is no doubt.

Plenty of doubt, in fact it's a ridiculous claim.

On the video evidence a stupid act, out of character with the player. It is not worse that Botha's, but no excuses. As NZers in general are saying, if found guilty he will deserve whatever the punishment is.

By mooloo, at November 08, 2010 11:34 pm
Yeah butter would not melt in Mealamu's mouth

Exhibit A - Cannon fight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ASdxXQnrd8&feature=related

Exhibit B - BOD spear

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTVhckB3juk

By Mike, at November 08, 2010 11:41 pm
Fry, didn't he dislocate O'Driscoll's shoulder with a spear tackle(against the Lions)? I don't know if he's a dirty player, but that looked pretty silly.

On an other matter, does anyone remember when he got punched right in the face with a blow that would have killed a bull but didn't bulge? I can't remember who the AB were playing so it's not really helpful... But it was very funny.

By Gman, at November 08, 2010 11:42 pm
Mike, you're a legend. Great minds think alike.

By Gman, at November 08, 2010 11:44 pm
@kevy is wanker. i mean god. no actually wanker suits better.

You cocky chumps will fluff up the WC next yr. I look forward to it. And i hope its England you get knocked out to. We're coming. Moodys coming. Weve almost caught u up...now all we need to see is the standard kiwi bottlers do what they do best...choke.

By Anonymous, at November 08, 2010 11:48 pm
Moody is God, I appreciate you trying but I think we all know who are the AB going to loose against in the WC.

By Gman, at November 08, 2010 11:52 pm
Nick:

"Ok, he was a fool for doing it, but in comparison bakkies 'sidelined for half a career' Botha is always going to get a fuller punishment."
Mealamu does have some nasty previous, even if he got away with some of it - but
I see what you mean.

By Gavin, at November 08, 2010 11:53 pm
"...clearing a ruck without using his arms." He used the jersey to pull the target back into him for added velocity. Flagrant, vicious and beautiful. Rugby has always been a sport where the players clean the stuff up that the ref doesn't see. Moody doesn't want to play the ball fairly, so he gets what he gets. I was always taught not to go after the head hands or knees, however. A little tap dance to leave some tattoos down Moody's legs would have been justified.

Banned the rest of the tour shold do the trick.

And the Dallas Reds are wankers.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 12:00 am
Wow, what a revelation, finally some proof that rugby commentators sometimes treat their own teams differently. I've never noticed that before from any other country. Well worth putting up RD.

By Devon, at November 09, 2010 12:00 am
Um..other Mike 5 comments or so up - yeah, he speared O'Driscoll (smashing his shoulder) and got away with it, but he was the victim of a nasty, unnecessary punch from Cannon in the second one. I don't see how you can blame him for that one?

By Mike, at November 09, 2010 12:03 am
Anonymous:

"...clearing a ruck without using his arms." He used the jersey to pull the target back into him for added velocity. Flagrant, vicious and beautiful. Rugby has always been a sport where the players clean the stuff up that the ref doesn't see. Moody doesn't want to play the ball fairly, so he gets what he gets. I was always taught not to go after the head hands or knees, however. A little tap dance to leave some tattoos down Moody's legs would have been justified."

I hope you were saying the same thing when Jamie Heaslip tried to knee Richie McCaw? At least Heaslip had the good manners to get sent off...

By Gavin, at November 09, 2010 12:05 am
Who on earth writes these articles?

-> 'could there be some kind of other explanation for what Mealamu was doing?'

Of course there is no other 'explanation' for what he was doing, Mealamu knew exactly what he was doing. As the video shows, he basically lines Moody up, and then tries to take his head off.

Moody is a very physical player and can often be highly aggressive too, but as of recently has kept that confined within the laws of the game, and by no means deserved what he got.

The England v. All Blacks game was a great game, with the better team winning, but there is absolutely no place for this kind of cheap shot stuff in todays rugby, and I hope Mealamu gets a proper, lengthy ban.

By Swing Low, at November 09, 2010 12:11 am
pfft the guys an All Black and the All Blacks are the favorite children of the IRB, he deserves at least 6 weeks but will get a slap in the wrist.

By ChinUp, at November 09, 2010 12:12 am
He's wearing black, so expect a 2 week ban or so.

By john doors, at November 09, 2010 12:14 am
Mealamu will definitely get a ban, whether or not he meant to do it intentionally.

Watching the replay, I didn't notice anything to begin with - it just looked like Mealamu was bridging on the ruck and Moody crashed down at the same time - resulting in a head collision, but the slow mo close up replay made it look really bad.

Interesting to see how it goes.

By wassup, at November 09, 2010 12:16 am
Well there's no point arguing about Mealamu's skills and rugby brain, but this is... Well, idiot. Sometimes I don't get why a rugby player would go for a cheap shot looking for "revenge". I'm not english, but the best and only way to answer to somedy is as Josh Lewswy did on Matt Rogers: a fucking rib breaking smashing tackle.

No place for this kind of stuff in rugby. And for all the guys who say Mealamu's "real clean", do you remember a certain Lions tour..?

By Juggernauter, at November 09, 2010 12:21 am
@fry: I noticed you asked for a list of Mealamu's past misdemeanors from people who say he's a "very dirty player". That list has now rocketed up to one dodgy tackle, the same one that we've heard about more often than any WC forward pass. Although there was another incident added to the list but it turns out that was of somebody punching Mealamu in the face so it doesn't seem so persuasive. Like you, I await what must be a truckload of indisputable evidence to support such a claim.

By mooloo, at November 09, 2010 12:57 am
@ Moody is God. England are a joke!

You couldn't get within 10 even with an offside try, the ref in your pocket and a 14 man AB team for the last 10 mins.

You are not close to anything, the Wallabies will destroy you just to confirm my view.

You won't be upsetting any teams at the world cup sweetheart.

BTW Moody is VERY average, the only time I herd his name called during the game was when he was on the ground injured.

England need to take a defeat like a man for once, just cop it and move on to your next loss with dignity!

By Kevy is god, at November 09, 2010 1:10 am
Juggernaught do you ever have anything decent to ad to this blog apart from winging about BOD getting hurt?

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 1:11 am
Kiwis are thoe most one-eyed people whn it comes to rugby....

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 1:40 am
if you check the very beginning when moody first goes in it looks like he dives head first and from what i can see could have clipped mealamu in the head which given mealamus normally very clean nature could account for his "dirty" behaviour.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 1:47 am
Ugly play from Mealamu. Can we also get Hartley's shot on McCaw?

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 1:49 am
so funny, thats what the kiwi commentator says even though its clear to everyone. "moody receives some attention"

of course all the kiwis think they never break the rules blah blah blah... that should have been a red and change the way the game was going.

maybe the tv refs should start having greater control and for event like that this be able to inform the pitch ref and send of the player.

and that would be the same for Hartley before al the kiwis start commenting

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 1:53 am
@ Anon above;

I'm a kiwi and I reckon both incidents should be forgotten and everyone move on (obviously Kevy will get a couple of weeks maybe more). McCaw loves pissing players off, its his job and sometimes people lash out at him.

Rugby is such a tough sport and that's why we all love it so much... Id be shattered if the TMO got to make rulings over general play because it would disrupt the flow of the game even more than some of these whistle happy refs!

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 2:09 am
in a 11 year career a suspect tackle and getting into a fight with a player that has brazenly punched him in the face does not a dirty player make. mealamu is a very clean player usually and im picking something has really pissed him off for him to do this.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 2:10 am
those talking about bias nz commentators should check out the hartly elbow, the english commentators are just as bad.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 2:29 am
Anonymous (whoever you are), I'll discuss with you once you have the guts to get a name.

Or are you an 11 year old?

By Juggernauter, at November 09, 2010 2:34 am
What a bunch of fucking babies on this board. Good god, he headbutted the guy. I didn't hear this much uproar when Heaslip kneed McCaw.

Forwards are quick to anger and quick to make stupid decisions. Who cares. I hope Mealamu gets a ban of some sort, but jesus...you guys sound like a bunch of little girls who just found out their favorite store ran out of designer purses.

By anonymouse, at November 09, 2010 2:35 am
your all plugs! , its rugby harden up ....bakkies is a greasy dirty south african that does this shiite every week

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 2:37 am
@Juggernaught you and BOD need a sponsorship from Kleenex, supposedly England have already organised their deal so you should get in there quickly to make sure you don't miss out on your allocation of free tissues.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 3:21 am
@Anon above, hahahahah. Classic comment, England should seek sponsorship from Kleenex!

By Leeners93, at November 09, 2010 3:25 am
CZX...

You really have to applaud the Kiwi commentators there. Remaining so impartial and not even mentioning Kevin's mma inspired flying headbutt on Moody. Well done lads..you're an inspiration to the whole world.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 3:56 am
Kevin needs to do a bit of time for that.

Typical that the ref did not do anything about it. ABs are a protected species at the breakdown.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 4:27 am
I guess I was watching a different video. Keven Mealamu's head didn't connect with Moody at all. It was his shoulder. It was still reckless, but it wasn't head-to-head contact. I don't think the citing should be that extreme (i.e no more than 4wks), because it looks more like Mealamu was trying to clear Moody (who was cheating at the time) out of the ruck rather than headbutt him.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 4:37 am
Its funny Graham Henry said he's the cleanest player in world rugby .. but wasn't it him and Umunga who spear tackled O'Driscol on that Lions tour ?!?!

By The Flying Burrito Bus, at November 09, 2010 6:09 am
holy shit another person still crying about the Irish Potato Puff aka BOD. NH love a sook, thank goodness you continue to loose all games to SH teams, thus giving you more reason to indulge in some self pitty.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 6:19 am
Stop moaning you girls. Somebody needs to give you all a headbutt. Losers!!!!

By Shutup, at November 09, 2010 6:26 am
Stop moaning you girls. Somebody needs to give you all a headbutt. Losers!!!!

By Shutup, at November 09, 2010 6:26 am
no place for this kind of thing in rugby. Bizarre to call someone one of the cleanest players when he was invovled in perhaps the most high profile case of dirty play in the professional era. He should get 9 week as well for consistency, his history is no cleaner to bakkies in my opinion. He has just happened to get away with what he's done.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 6:53 am
Hahaha, when a Saffa does does something like this you fucking guys can't stop bitching and moaning about it. An AB does a flying fucking headbut and all of a sudden it's quit your moaning losers, its a tough game blah blah. Jesus, grow up. Can you imagine what would happen if a Saffa, Ozzie or Pom did it to Mealamu. I reckon you'd suddenly change your tune. Fuckwits

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 7:05 am
Off his feet to begin with, diving dangerously into the ruck - there's a couple of weeks.

Headbutt - minimum four.

Any takers for six weeks?

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 7:44 am
commentators should do their job and discuss the footage, not ignore it because of whichever side they back.

not as bad as botha's max nine weeks
(rugbydump has been kind enough to provide a link to botha's headbutt, please tell me how it was not worse)

By zacaria, at November 09, 2010 8:11 am
Hartley's was worse, but uncited...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyGIHha3cXI

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 8:15 am
And Graham Henry who tells that "it was purely accidental"... What a disgrace

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 8:30 am
For the sake of the game, I hope they ban him for a good long while.

Utterly shameful for a professional of the game.

By ReJLoRd, at November 09, 2010 8:38 am
for the person who said bothas history is no dirtier than than mealamus, your out of your one eyed freakin mind, botha is a serial offender and tends to spend as much time on the sideline for these types of incidences than he does on the field. its rare for mealamu to get penalised let alone sent for anything malicious.
and to the saffa commenting on henry's statement, you musnt have heard the south african coache afrte burgers eye gouge.
People need to take a closer look at when moody first enters the ruck (itll be hard as the english broadcasters conveniently dont show it very well) but moody goes flying into the ruck and clashes with mealamu.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 8:45 am
Anonymous said...
Hartley's was worse, but uncited...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyGIHha3cXI

Not sure it's worse, but certainly as bad. I love the way Thorn came in and smashed Hartley to the ground!!

Very disappointed to see that Brian Moore's commentary was at least as biased as the NZ one we saw earlier. I thought better of him than that, I mean I know he gets quite passionate and excitable but thought he usually managed to be more objective with this sort of thing.

In his Telegraph column he was a bit more measured, even implicating himself in his criticism:
Later, McCaw took a cheap shot from England replacement hooker Dylan Hartley, which equalled out the earlier and even cheaper butt by the All Black hooker Kevin Mealamu on Lewis Moody (Why are all hookers psychopaths?).

By Von, at November 09, 2010 8:46 am
yep hartleys incident is worst and this is coming form an england fan.

Funny thing though is Hartley is a NEW ZEALANDER!!! LOL!!

Kevy M is a great player, and far better then this idiocy - he was stupid but needs t front up and take his medicine the same way everyone else who does something studpid should have to do.

By goodNumber10, at November 09, 2010 9:13 am
That's as bad as Bakkies' headbutt. The circumstances are pretty similar too, Bakkies was pissed at Cowan for having pulled him back, and Mealamu was pissed at Moody for killing the ball, and both took out their frustration by nutting the other guy in the back of the head.

I guess Mealamu won't get the same level of punishment given his pretty good disciplinary record, but I wouldn't be sad if he got an extra week or two for trying to plead innocence. I think we all accept that players lose their rag sometimes, it's the excuse-making afterwards that is almost as unseemly as the foul-play. Seriously, who does Keven Mealamu think he's kidding when he protests his innocence here?

I don't know what the NZ commentators were thinking or looking at this time, they might not have been able to see the replay pictures as they were being broadcast, does anyone know for sure? I actually thought they called the Botha incident pretty well over all. They all climbed in to the ref for not having penalised Cowan for what provoked Botha, and then said the citing commissioner would be looking at what happened. Hardly rocket science. Nisbett's comment about the "back of the head" was actually more directed at Botha for doing something that could injure himself.

By edbok, at November 09, 2010 9:56 am
Look at it in real time (at the start of the clip). Tell me that in that split second he made the decision to headbutt! No way.

By M.H., at November 09, 2010 10:05 am
Mealamu is not ordinarily a dirty player, however i do think this particular incident deserves the ban that he will no doubt get. I think the frustration of Moody constantly diving over, and slowing down the ball must have eventually got to Mealamu and this is a stupid way to respond.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 10:21 am
Mealamu is a gonner, what a prick.

By Jimmymc1, at November 09, 2010 10:27 am
There's a reason punching in the back of the head isn't allowed in boxing.

This is out of character for MEalamu, regardless it deserves a decent ban. Someone could be left seriously injured

By Chris, at November 09, 2010 10:33 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyGIHha3cXI

Hartley's forearm and elbow smash on McCaw after the whistle was at least as bad if not worse, and I have not here nearly the same amount of whining about that. This sort of behaviour is going to happen in Rugby, and yes it should be given an appropriate punishment by the IRB. But hey thats what they are here for, don't think that this wont happen again and don't think that whichever team you support is not capable or hasn't been involved in similar incidents in the past.

By 5th Official, at November 09, 2010 10:36 am
The morons who are insulting BOD again - the reason it was mentioned is because somebody said that Mealamu was super clean. How the hell was that NOT going to be mentioned in that context? Insulting a decent guy like BOD does not make your case any stronger tbh.

As said earlier, in the Cannon 'fight' Mealamu seemed to be the victim - what was he supposed to do after Cannon smacked him in the face, thank him politely?

By Gavin, at November 09, 2010 10:47 am
I can't believe how everyone wants the same punishment for Mealamu as Bakkies got. Are you out of your minds? Mealamu is from NZ. Bakkies is from RSA?

By Bas Horneman, at November 09, 2010 10:58 am
i find it ironic that you are all claiming mealamu is a dirty player when you have to go back 5 years just to find another incident. I reckon that says it all.

Also IMO Hartley's was just as bad, while the headbutt on its own is a more serious offense Hartley came in from the wrong side, after the whistle

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 11:06 am
Same as usual when it comes to NZ players with an upcoming citing.

Too pussy to post under a reasonable name and get replies, always use Annonymous, absolute pussies.

By Alf, at November 09, 2010 11:45 am
Don't pay any attention to what Brian Moore had to say on that English commentary of the Hartley incident - the game wasn't even on BBC. That will have been some 'faked' commentary for the highlights that night.

Barnes & Harrison from the live Sky Sports feed (who are on this Mealamu clip) were quite honest about it if I remember correctly.

Some strange comments here.. the one from the guy who said it was a shoulder made me lol a bit.

By Flinto, at November 09, 2010 11:58 am
Botha or Cudmore are known for that kind of extra stuff.
All i can remember from Mealamu is a spear tackle and a punch with the Aussie hooker (5 or 6 years ago I reckon), ever since he's been an AB.
So objectively not the same record not the same reputation.
Then again the headbutt is there for sure... while Hartley is probably happy seating in his couch ...
the IRB is oustanding when it comes to judgment gotta love injustice as its finest ^^

By jay, at November 09, 2010 12:08 pm
To all the kiwis whining about Hartley's actions. Carry on. Should Richie not have to let go of the ball on the ground? Where ENG not on attack for a lot of that half? Is this not a professional foul deserving of a warning? Was Thorne and the rest of the ABs taking the law into their own hands again? Did Richie get up and talk absolute rubbish to the ref again?

There was no forearm smash by hartley but it was a wreckless entry to the ruck. The penalty could have been reversed twice in that movement but there is now way he deserves a citing. Only if it was in NZ - cuz that is how you tits like to roll.

With the ref on your team in the 3N - you've peaked already! You will lose to scotland and get smashed in next years 3N. Not nearly half as good as you think you are - and you're tits.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 12:22 pm
I reckon the commentators just don't know what to say, they're sort of stunned. I mean, as a NZer, we have sort of got to know the players off the field and Kevin Mealamu would be one of the last players we'd expect to do something dirty (along with Muliaina and Carter). Its so out of character.......but there it is, so I don't know what to think

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 12:34 pm
i find it hilarious how they have to swap broadcasters and commentators, to confirm that he was headbutted

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 12:44 pm
"if you check the very beginning when moody first goes in it looks like he dives head first and from what i can see could have clipped mealamu in the head which given mealamus normally very clean nature could account for his "dirty" behaviour."

I think this is a very good shout. It doesn't condone Mealamu's actions, but it would certainly explain it. I'd love to see that clip enlarged.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 1:24 pm
@ Flinto - I think you're right. I was really surprised when I heard that Brian Moore clip, because I thought I remembered the commentators when I watched it live in the pub being much more impartial than that. I think you can generally rely on Barnes to be maintain neutrality.

By Von, at November 09, 2010 1:45 pm
Way i see it rugbys a rough game which is why we love it and forwards always"careless with theyre heads".Lewis Moody would have considered it job done if Mealamu sent off as he probable provoked it some how.Mealamu biggest crime to his team for being so blatant and not biding his time lets face it lewis going to be at most breakdowns.Why is everyone making rugby out to be so tame.For me as an England supporter who was there the best side won but not by much many positives for England .For those who think the game was too rough and want to make an issue out of nothing theres always net ball.
Swampy

By swampy, at November 09, 2010 2:33 pm
The English commentators actually mentioned the Hartley incident and said he was lucky that the ref never saw it. But he could be in trouble afterwards. Sky even replayed the incident a few times too. For me Hartley should get cited too.

By magicdarkshadow, at November 09, 2010 2:35 pm
Like most on here, dont want to see rugby getting soft and turning to football. this is a contact sport. but like someone else pointed out hits to the back of the head aren't even allowed in boxing. shouldnt matter if its first, second or third time. should be a red and should be made and example of.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 2:56 pm
Suspend him for 9 weeks. Exactly the same as Bakkies Botha.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 3:01 pm
HAHA the NZ commentators SOMEHOW missed that one....

By Alexander, at November 09, 2010 3:01 pm
NZ commentators:

"Atrocious by Moody...slamming his head into Mealamu's head."

By jm, at November 09, 2010 3:18 pm
Silly by Mealamu and poor behaviour. Whatever happened to a good old-fashioned punch-up? Anyway he deserves a ban as does Hartley which I believe as an England fan...

By NiWiTa, at November 09, 2010 3:54 pm
I take it all you England fans will be cheering on Scotland this weekend then? ;) ;) ;)

By Believer, at November 09, 2010 4:14 pm
Cannon hit Mealamu AFTER he Mealamu hit him with his right hand in the face. Cannon was reacting to that. I don't know if contact was made near the eyes but Cannon obviously thought something like that.

I am a neutral from Canada and having watched this game, i declare him dirty. I watched him for the rest of the game after that headbutt. Just like I watched Tindall prove he should never touch the ball.

By Stubby, at November 09, 2010 4:16 pm
after looking at it again
Cannon started it, my bad

By Stubby, at November 09, 2010 4:24 pm
Hey Beleiver - I will be as I live in Edinburgh and have tickets to the game. Would be good for Scotland's young side to give the All Blacks a challenge.......

Let's hope the rumours about the AB's fielding a 2nd string side (although no doubt even a 2nd team for them is dead good), are true...

c'mon Scotland!

By NIWiTa, at November 09, 2010 5:22 pm
Just because Mealamu is not offending on a regular basis doesnt mean he's clean, just hasnt been caught enough! Moody is an annoying f*ck at the breakdown but he could have been smarter on how to vent his frustation at him. Everyone can blame kevin for the o'driscoll spear tackle but to me, he was told by the coaches to make an early impact and he did it. Henry should apologise for this as well, they're his responosibility

By mikeb, at November 09, 2010 5:31 pm
Will certainly be interesting to see how Scotland get on. They've made immense progress over the last year or so, but there's nothing like playing NZ to really find out how far you've actually come. If the All Blacks treat them too casually they could be in for a bit of a surprise. (I'm not suggesting for a minute they could lose! Just could be a bit close for comfort).

By Von, at November 09, 2010 6:49 pm
Will certainly be interesting to see how Scotland get on. They've made immense progress over the last year or so, but there's nothing like playing NZ to really find out how far you've actually come. If the All Blacks treat them too casually they could be in for a bit of a surprise. (I'm not suggesting for a minute they could lose! Just could be a bit close for comfort).

By Von, at November 09, 2010 6:49 pm
9 weeks ban same as bakkies if not more. this was NO accident!!!

By muzi, at November 09, 2010 8:48 pm
nothing in that.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 8:53 pm
Both incidents are stupid and both deserve a ban but more importantly Graham Henry should be banned from the touchline/ground for the remainder of the tour for defending such an obvious attack! I for one can't imagine what Johnson will do to Hartley if he gets a ban. Probably eat him. Graham Henry has a history of this and not to bring it up again but he ignored the BOD incident and had the audacity to say they should move on. How can you expect players to take responsibility when the coach is probably telling them not to.

By Jimbo, at November 09, 2010 9:23 pm
Let's be clear here, Moody got away lightly.
Fair enough that Mealamu will be suspended, but let's not pretend that Moody didn't get what he spent the whole game looking for.

By Hone, at November 09, 2010 9:36 pm
While the headbutt was vivious and reprehensible, I can understand why it happened. The ABs break the line and had they got the ball out to Carter, they would have broken the line again (only 6 English defenders in the line). Mealamu arrives at the breakdown as Moody is cynically killing the ball and has a rush of blood to the head. Despite that, one has to be a dirty player to have that kind of reaction to an opponent killing the ball. The silence of the Kiwi commentators is almost as bad as the headbutt, but then again it is hard to talk into a microphone when you are constantly fellating McCaw and Dan Carter.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 9:39 pm
So many people jealous of the all blacks, is it because your teams are shit?? (Except springboks/wallabies)

By Louis, at November 09, 2010 10:21 pm
"So many people jealous of the all blacks, is it because your teams are shit?? (Except springboks/wallabies)"

I'm an Irish fan and not jealous at all. I'll admit the top 3 are better than the Lions countries. France (whose team I wouldn't be particularly fond of) would be in the mix there as well (though SH guys probably wouldn't agree).

To be honest, it was a bit of a scumbag move by New Zealand no. 2, but it hardly reflects on the team. England no. 2 pulled the same kind of thing as well.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 10:29 pm
Such inferiority complex anti-All Blacks sentiment here..

Let's summarise:

Mealamu did that tackle on BOD and got away with it. It was a bad tackle, and he deserved a ban, but that's his only discretion in 11 years. To support a claim that he's a dirty player all that's been produced is a video of him getting punched in the face by Cannon?

Then, apparently NZ commentators are the most biased in the world - and yet it's clear the English commentators did exactly the same thing and were silent about the Dylan Hartley incident.

And what makes me laugh the most: apparently the ABs are the darlings of the IRB and Mealamu won't get a ban: well Hartley wasnt even cited!

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 11:03 pm
Mealamu banned for 4 weeks.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 11:22 pm
deserves everything he gets hes a scum of the game and how he escaped the BOD innicdent in 2005 is unknown. give him 8 weeks just so he learns that cheating is wrong as well. give hartley the same it was bang out of order what both of them did.
personally i think the more offences you commit the higher the ban. to stamp stupid things like this.

By geordie, at November 09, 2010 11:30 pm
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

By Anonymous, at November 09, 2010 11:55 pm
scum, the only word that comes close,
typical nz play, win at any cost, no room in rugby for that, dirtiest team in the world, have grown more and more hatred towards nz rugby the more i watch them over the years, it probably peaked in 2005, need i say more....

By Ronan, at November 10, 2010 12:32 am
@Louis

You're right man. Its tall poppy syndrome & New Zealand, Australia & South Africa are the poppies.

By Anonymous, at November 10, 2010 1:47 am
Sorry to change the subject slightly, but I noticed a post about Scotland. I am just wondering (for those of you in the NH) how well Scotland have been performing lately? I have heard through media reports that Scotland have been on the up. Any insights greatly appreciated.

AB v Scotland and Australia v England should both be good games this weekend, am looking forward to them both.

By JDG, at November 10, 2010 2:28 am
wow ii never knew the irish were such whinging little girls, it was 5 years ago, time to move on.
And to the others bringing up that same incident as some sort of proof of him being dirty. the fact that you can only bring up that one event in a 11 year career shows that he is far from a dirty player.
Thats the reason he got 4 wks unlike botha who is a serial offender getting 9.

By Anonymous, at November 10, 2010 3:29 am
Typical of the Irish to come on here and bitch and moan.
Get over it.
In regards to the incident, Mealamu went too far, deserves a ban, then we all move on and forget about it.
The ref let this game get out of hand, he let anything happen at the breakdown, anything at all.

By Jono, at November 10, 2010 3:37 am
fuck i thought this was rugby not touch, so what if he went a bit dirty, should of a been a warning then just carried on,, bloody soft cock rugby that is for getting 4 weeks! bullshit

By Anonymous, at November 10, 2010 8:47 am
@ JDG.

Scotland are doing much bettr then a year ago, playing with some speed and width it'll be interesting because they will aim to play a low fast game like the AB's.

I think the biggest problem for them will be physicality in defence, that's where the AB's have a good 15 points over them.

Again like England it won't be about winning it will be about gauging where they are.

By goodNumber10, at November 10, 2010 8:48 am
"Anonymous" said...
The silence of the Kiwi commentators is almost as bad as the headbutt, but then again it is hard to talk into a microphone when you are constantly fellating McCaw and Dan Carter.

LOL! Nice one.

By Von, at November 10, 2010 9:31 am
1st comment is on the money, very strange that the nz commentators didn't even mention the headbutt whilst showing the replay.

Piss poor stuff from such a respected player as Mealamu

By win, at November 10, 2010 1:10 pm
The argument against the ban is that his shoulder hitting Moddy's back is where the impact was and that it wasn't a head on head clash. So Mealamu rammed his shoulder into Moody's back while trying to clear out the ruck (Moody was lying on the ball).

They are probably also trying to get it withdrawn due to Hartley's offence going unpunished.

It might actually work which would see him playing. That would get some angry internet commentators really worked up.

By olwakachangchang, at November 10, 2010 1:29 pm
Wow, running through the commentary for this post I get a bit worried about humanity a bit.

Lots of idiots.

By olwakachangchang, at November 10, 2010 1:37 pm
@ goodnumber10

So when are England and Scotland going to stop gauging themselves and start trying to win against the All Blacks :-)

By olwakachangchang, at November 10, 2010 1:40 pm
"New Zealand today vowed to fight 'to the death' against the four-week ban handed down to hooker Keven Mealamu for an apparent head-butt on England's Lewis Moody."

Kev says
“I’ve played more than 100 Super games and 82 tests and never had any foul play against me. I do take it personally. I’m not that sort of person," he is reported to have bleated

As somebody said five years ago "Don't be a sook, mate"

By Kenny, at November 10, 2010 4:26 pm
Yeah, 'Justice 4 Kevin', huh? That's a ridiculous statement from the Kiwis. It's a case as black-and-white as the Dupuy eye-gouge, the Botha head-butt, the Burger eye-gouge, the Heaslip knee, and a hundred other cases. It's embarrassing when a team/nation/player pretends that nothing happened and it's all a big accident. Be a man and own up to what you did, ffs. We can all see what happened.

On another note, I presume the reason he got only 4 weeks (less than half what Botha got) was because Botha has been caught a lot more often.

By Mike, at November 10, 2010 5:16 pm
no no its because Kev is sqeeeeeeeky clean; its not that he hasn't been CAUGHT, its because he doesn't and wouldn't do that type of thing.

The camera man fiddled with the footage.

By Kenny, at November 10, 2010 5:27 pm
The camera man fiddled with the footage.

Ah yes, the Stade Francais defence :)

By Mike, at November 10, 2010 6:05 pm
Thanks Mike, paint us all with the same brush.

A poll they ran in a local rag here in NZ showed most people thought the 4 weeks was deserved.

I also presume Botha got longer as he had a long list of convictions, either way they both miss the same amount of tests.

By Simon7, at November 10, 2010 7:12 pm
Simon, sorry mate, I didn't mean 'Kiwis' meaning all NZers, just meant the team management. I'd never assume that the team management represented all the folks in NZ. (Case in point - I'd hate to think that NZers would think the 2005 Lions management represented the Lions fans, they were a bunch of nobs)

By Mike, at November 10, 2010 9:10 pm
make the screen larger and pause it at around 11 seconds, moody flies in from an offside position and collides heads with mealamu.
Im betting thats what caused mealamu to retaliate.

By Anonymous, at November 11, 2010 6:42 am
"Im betting thats what caused mealamu to retaliate"

Yeah Kev would never do that on purpose, he's squeeky clean;

Like i said the footage is totally fake!!

By Kenny, at November 11, 2010 10:54 am
kevin mealamu the cleanest player in rugby according to graham henry. is this the same mealamu that (with umaga) spear tackled brian o'driscoll in the 2005 lions tour, when he was standing over at a ruck?

By Stuart, at November 11, 2010 11:43 am
always been a knacker

By Anonymous, at November 11, 2010 2:24 pm
In my opinion, on this occasion it seems like a cheap shot. Doesn't look like anything else and saying that he was clearing out without using arms is ridiculous. I'd just take the punishment and keep quiet.

On the other hand, the Cannon incident was started by Cannon. Mealamu's reaction wasn't particularly bad and what Cannon then did was just over the top. Cannon should have gotten red and Mealamu, nothing.

As for the BoD incident, it may have been dirty, but it was a long time ago.

By KG, at November 11, 2010 6:58 pm
congrats for the stalinian censorship rd.

By Anonymous, at November 11, 2010 8:05 pm
^ sarcasm?

By Anonymous, at November 11, 2010 8:32 pm
nz all blacks = knackers of rugby!!
sport would be so much better without such unsporting dirty cheats. and its nothing to do with nh rugby v sh rugby, i think s.a, austrailia ect are great teams. just no time for scum....

By Ronan, at November 11, 2010 11:31 pm
Ronan, I'm an Aussie and you're a fuckin idiot.
NZ are probably the greatest team ever to play the game.
Alan Quinlan was banned for eye gouging, I can't remember the last time an All Black got done for that.
So does that make Ireland the 'knackers' of rugby?
Eye gouging is way worse than what Mealamu has ever done.

Irish people who keep fucking complaining about BOD getting his shoulder dislocated need to get the fuck over it like any other rugby country would. Seriously, it comes across like the crying of a bunch of pussies.

By Tom, at November 12, 2010 3:30 am
"Tom said...
Irish people who keep fucking complaining about BOD getting his shoulder dislocated need to get the fuck over it like any other rugby country would. Seriously, it comes across like the crying of a bunch of pussies."

Like i said before Tom

Kev says
“I’ve played more than 100 Super games and 82 tests and never had any foul play against me. I do take it personally. I’m not that sort of person," he is reported to have bleated

glass houses Tom; glass houses;

What about RWC 2007 in Cardiff; Have you got over that forward pass yet. Nope. If it was any of your players that got a shoulder dislocated you'd still be harping on about it.

Kev was dirty in "that" incident and he was just caught headbutting a player; hes dirty; i couldnt care less about Heaslip, Quinlan et all; they were caught and got their punishment and they didn't try to hide from it or detract from it.

Don't be a sook mate

By Kenny, at November 12, 2010 11:02 am
Yeah the irish on this site are a bunch of crybabys, get over it losers.

Anyway mealamu deserves his ban. He needs to get over it aswell.

By Grayson, at November 12, 2010 12:14 pm
Grayson said...
Yeah the irish on this site are a bunch of crybabys, get over it losers.

choke forward choke

By Kenny, at November 12, 2010 4:36 pm
Knowing the IRB ruling now after seeing this is very disheartening.

By Anonymous, at November 12, 2010 5:48 pm
Get over it ladies, and go collect your rose we trod on:

An International Rugby Board appeal committee chaired by South Africa's Peter Ingwersen met in Edinburgh today and determined that the incident had not been intentional. Mealamu will be able to return to action on Monday 22 November.

By Anonymous, at November 12, 2010 5:50 pm
Kenny, do you not know the difference between NZ and Australia? Or do they not teach that in knacker school?

By Simon7, at November 12, 2010 8:00 pm
funny how the kiwis ignore it completely eh? ah well, its what Ive come to expect from a team that would only ever concentrate on what thye do wrong, and never give credit to anyone else...

By Danny P, at November 13, 2010 12:32 pm
4 weeks sentence - smelt like corruption to me. The reduced sentence absolutely stinks of corruption! The truth will come out - eventually.

By Anonymous, at November 13, 2010 2:50 pm
english player gets absolutely nothing whilst the ab gets banned, definately smells like corruption to me

By Anonymous, at November 13, 2010 10:34 pm
An absolute disgrace. Mealamu has a history of foul play (not according to the one-eyed Graham Henry). He speared BOD out of the Lions tests and fish-hooked Danny Grewcock (wrong choice of people to pick on Kevin you muppet). He should have had the full ban for his coward's assault on Moody.

By Anonymous, at June 03, 2011 2:13 pm