After seeing Morne Steyn get red carded for a spear tackle a couple of weeks ago, Marius Joubert was only yellow carded for this tackle a week later.
It was definitly not as dangerous as Steyns, but the question has to be asked - should it be a red card for any spear tackle, or is each tackle judged according to the severity of the impact?
It may have been a spear tackle, but it wasn't a "true" spear tackle, as Joel Stransky points out.
Both fans and players alike need consistancy from the refs and the IRB rulings. My feeling is that each tackle should be judged accordingly. Therefore, a yellow was sufficent here. Your thoughts?
Young Bulls flanker Dewald Potgieter got himself in a whole lot of hot water against the Crusaders on Friday night in Pretoria. Potgieter has been suspended for a week after an outrageous spear tackle on Casey Laulala.
As if the evening wasn't disastrous enough for the Bulls, who went down 54-19 in the end, Potgieter put a black mark next to his name and is now out for the next week. For some reason the ref and touchjudge didn't consider this bad enough to be a yellow card, but I guess that's what the citing commission is for. I personally thought it would have and could have been a red.
It's a pity for the young Potgieter, who actually made a huge difference to the poor Bulls performance. I'd like to say you'll be hearing that name again in the future, but hopefully for different reasons as to why you're hearing it now.
We've seen some terrible spear tackles in the past, but this is one of the worst, with Laulala actually flipping over so far that he didn't land directly on his head, luckily. A one week ban in my opinion is extremely lenient, but perhaps the players' disciplinary record and character was taken into account.
The Bulls vs The Sharks last weekend in the Currie Cup met for a Super 14 finalists rematch. The Sharks scored two tries in each half for their bonus point in a match of great excitement for the 27 000 spectators.
The game was effectively spoilt in the second half for a short period with the instant red card given to Bulls flyhalf Morne Steyn by referee Mark Lawrence for a spear tackle on flanker Jacques Botes.
The IRB clearly is attempting to stamp out on any form of the spear tackle. In my opinion, very harsh, and I'm a Sharks supporter.
Toulouse flyhalf Frederic Michalak had another eventful evening on Friday when his side scraped to a narrow 18-12 win over Bourgoin in the Top 14.
In appaling conditions, the game was full of kicking and there was only a point seperating the two sides at halftime. The visitors came away with the win though in a closely fought match.
With twenty minutes to go Michalak put in a crazy tackle on Bourgoin scrum half Mickael Forest.
He was yellow carded by the referee, with it being deemed as a dangerous spear tackle as we saw Forest being tossed onto the back of his head.
Michalak got down nice and low to effect the tackle, but picking him up into a spear position, then dropping him, deserves nothing less than a yellow. Poor technique unfortunately, but just another eventful weekend for Freddie.
A month ago England wing Matt Banahan was suspended for a tip tackle he made when playing against the Australian Barbarians down under. In the wake of the Jean De Villiers suspension this past weekend, take a look at this and compare the two.
It took a while to track down a clip from the un-televised game and by the time I'd sorted it out, the dust had settled slightly. There was a request for it earlier today though so what better time to post the clip than when there's been a fairly heated debate about the De Villiers spear on Rene Ranger that many felt was a little soft.
In the case of Banahan, he was the third England player to be cited on that tour, with lock Dave Atwood having two charges of stamping being dropped on technicalities. Mark Cueto was then also cited for a hit against Australia - that you can see at the start of this clip - but that was also thrown out.
Banahan was third in line, and perhaps in some ways paid the price for the other two getting off scot free. His tackle on Berrick Barnes led to him being suspended for two weeks by New Zealand Judicial Officer Peter Hobbs.
By all means, it was a big hit and Barnes' legs were lifted above the horizontal. At no point in time was his head driven or dropped towards the ground though, so on initial viewing the ruling seemed very harsh. It certainly wasn't a spear, but perhaps was a 'tip tackle', as they like to call it these days.
If we're after consistency, and this type of tackle is indeed illegal, then when you compare the two incidents, the two weeks that De Villiers got suddenly doesn't look so bad.
This clip has also been posted because regardless of comparisons, some of you wanted to see it a while back and possibly never did.
I'd like to hear your take on it. Was this ruling on Banahan extremely harsh, or is the IRB on the right track when trying to stop tacklers from lifting players' legs in the tackle?
It's not often that we see red cards dished out these days. If we do see them it's normally for punches or blatant dirty play which normally involves some kind of thugery on the field.
On Friday night Bulls fullback Zane Kirchner received this red card for an off the ball spear tackle, which has resulted in him having been suspended for two weeks.
Bakkies Botha was yellow carded at the same time for an alleged head butt, which he's since been found not guilty of committing.
My original feeling was that the red for Kirchner was a bit harsh. However, the assistant referee, as they call them these days, was Mark Lawrence and he loves dishing out the discipline. The discussion between ref and Lawrence amounted to them both agreeing that it was extreme, a spear, and off the ball.
Who knows what Kirchner was thinking when making the tackle, and despite Dusty Noble landing safely on a pile of other players, it's only a matter of time before someone gets seriously injured by a tackle of this nature.
Force centre Rory Sidey has been suspended following his dangerous tackle on Sharks wing Odwa Ndungane in their Super Rugby game in Perth on Saturday. Ndungane has since been released from hospital after being stretchered off.
Sidey was on the field as a replacement for Mitch Inman, who dislocated his elbow. It was a match Sidey would rather forget, as within a few minutes of being on the park he coughed up a ball that led to Ndungane’s opportunistic try.
Shortly after that, he and Gene Fairbanks combined to tip the Sharks winger in what resulted in a nasty looking spear tackle, and an injury to the Springbok. A straight red card followed, with the referee having little option but to send him off.
He has since been suspended for three weeks following a judicial hearing.
The red card and suspension were upheld under Law 10.4 (j): Lifting a player from the ground and dropping or driving that player into the ground whilst that player’s feet are still off the ground such that the player’s head and/or upper body come into contact with the ground is dangerous play.
The lowest recommended suspension is 3 weeks, which is what he received.
Ndungane was carried off the field and spent the night in hospital, but has since recovered well and been released, and should be back in training fairly soon.
We often hear complaints about how the game is getting soft or that the rulings are too harsh when it comes to tip/spear tackles, but this incident shows that the laws are in place for a reason, and Ndungane is pretty lucky to not have been more severely injured.
It's probably fair to say that Fairbanks was also fairly lucky to get away with his involvement in the tackle, as was Alistair Hargreaves for his retaliation. The Sharks won the game 31-12.
The Wales and Fiji game on Friday wasn't too spectacular as for whatever reason, both sides failed to hit their straps. In an uneventful game, one of the moments that stood out was this tackle that resulted in a yellow card for Seremaia Bai.
Bai, so often an integral part of the Fiji setup, was sent from the pitch for ten minutes after what was ruled as a spear, or dangerous, tackle.
He certainly lifted Brew's legs past the horizontal and by recent rulings that alone is enough to show a player yellow, and in some cases can even result in suspension, as we saw a few months back in the Tri Nations.
If we look at it a little closer though, was this not a case of a great hit being over policed because of a technicality? By all means it looked like what we've all come to know as a good, solid, dump tackle. If a player's legs happen to go up in the air at the last moment but he still lands in the same position he would have if they hadn't, should the tackler be penalised for that?
A lot of it is about momentum and balance. If anything, Bai seemed to land more awkwardly. It certainly wasn't a lift, twist, and drive like we've seen rightly penalised in recent years. Bai actually went on to kick the all important penalty for the draw later in the game, so it was quite an interesting night for him.
Technically this decision was correct and spear tackles should definitely be stamped out of the game, but do you agree that perhaps officials are told to judge on the position of the legs rather than the tackle for what it is? All opinions are welcome as I'm sure we all see it differently.
Newport Gwent Dragons players Aled Brew and Scott Morgan were both cleared of any wrong doing following their tumultuous encounter with Glasgow Warriors on Sunday. Brew seemingly spear tackled DTH Van Der Merwe, but has been cleared of any wrong doing.
Both Brew and forward Morgan had been cited following incidents in the game. Morgan was accused of striking an opponent, but video evidence revealed that there was nothing in it. Brew on the other hand, made this dangerous tackle yet wasn’t carded, let alone penalised, at the time.
Glasgow coach Sean Lineen was furious and afterwards stated that the Welsh touch judges failed to act as they should, calling for neutral assistants to be put in place. Dragons coach Paul Turner then said that they were concerned about these comments, putting further pressure on the Welsh Rugby Union disciplinary panel.
The hearing took place yesterday and although Brew was found guilty of a dangerous tackle, a WRU statement said that the offence should have been dealt with by a penalty or a yellow card. That means that it was not considered a red card offence, the criterion which would have allowed the panel to slap a suspension on him.
Both Morgan and Brew will be free to play this weekend, as the Dragons meet the Cardiff Blues in the Magners League.
This clip, with Gaelic commentary, shows the little battle Brew and Van Der Merwe had, with a scuffle breaking out and then Van Der Merwe returning to the field after being yellow carded, only to be dumped by Brew a minute or so later.
Queensland winger Digby Ioane has been suspended by the SANZAR judiciary for a spear tackle in the Super 14 this last weekend.
Ioane was suspended for four matches after pleading guilty to the dangerous tackle on Canterbury Crusaders centre Casey Laulala in Brisbane on Saturday.
Ioane was given a yellow card on the field despite the touch judge and referee clearly considering a red at the time, watched ever so closely by Reds captain James Horwill.
Laulala, the victim who had his face driven into the turf, got up and resumed play after some medical attention.
Queensland are already out of the running for a spot in the playoffs but face the Waratahs in the final round, which Ioane will of course miss due to the suspension.
Finally got hold of the spear tackle on Richie McCaw. Insane that Tuqiri wasn't spotted doing it on the field. Also unbelievably that McCaw didn't have any serious injury from it. Then again, he is one of the toughest players out there.
Springbok Jean De Villiers has been suspended for two weeks following a spear tackle on All Blacks debutant Rene Ranger. De Villiers was cited following the 31-17 loss the Tri Nations second test in Wellington.
While a lot of the debate after the match was about the Rossouw incident, the Ranger tackle on Kirchner, and Richie McCaw being uncardable, this citing perhaps surprised some as it seemed fairly innocuous at the time.
In recent years however, we’ve seen that this type of tip tackle is being stamped out of the game, with players have been shown yellow, and even red carded, for similar offences.
De Villiers appeared before judicial officer Dennis Wheelahan who found the South African back, who was playing out of position at wing, to be guilty after considering submissions from himself, his representatives, and taking into account video evidence.
He is now suspended until 1 August and will miss the upcoming Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane. With the form he’s been in on the wing, and after having left the field with an injury in the second half, it seems as though he might not have played anyway.
One gets the impression that if it were spotted, and dealt with, by the officials during the match, the citing wouldn't have been necessary. In this case, two weeks probably equals a yellow card.
Do you think the suspension is harsh, or is it simply along the lines of recent judgements on dangerous tip tackles, therefore making it consistent and fair?
A while back I reported on French Pro D2 club Toulon, who've got themselves a whole host of current and former international stars.
Victor Matfield is the latest big name who has arrived at the club to much fanfare and media attention. The 2007 World Cup Final Man of the Match has joined Toulon as part of the club presidents goal of joining the Top 14 next season. Lineout dominance, experience, skill, and physical aggression are what make Matfield one of the top Second Rowers in the game today.
Against Racing Metro last weekend Matfield gave the Racing flyhalf a friendly hello with this shoulder after the neat flick pass from the number ten. Matfield got reprimanded by the French referee, being told it was a dangerous tackle.
His response with 'Me?' was probably referring to the next tackle in the movement which was by centre Mafileo Kefu on Greg Goosen. Kefu's tackle was textbook, despite being close to a spear. Driving the player into the ground like that is considered safer than dropping him on his head. That said, Goosens legs did face upwards, which technically makes it a spear tackle in my opinion.
On Friday last week in the Plays of the Week segment you may have noticed a funny ending to the clip, with a quite hilarious bit of theatre from wing Ben Smith. Here's the full incident.
Big Robbie Fruean has been featured on here a few times already, and the more we see him play, the more we realise what a beast he is. He's also incredibly unlucky to be one of those talented individuals who has suffered from the massive amounts of top quality backs in New Zealand.
A few months back it looked as though Fruean and Sonny Bill Williams were destined to become the All Blacks' new center pairing, featuring strongly at the World Cup. It hasn't gone that way, and with Conrad Smith and Ma'a Nonu in the form of their lives, even the dangerous Williams is playing a supporting role off the bench. Fruean is yet to be selected at all.
That said, he's a young guy and still has a huge amount of potential, which he'll no doubt reach in coming years as he gets even stronger, more powerful, and more aware on both defence and with ball in hand. As it is, he's a bit of a freak physically.
Bay of Plenty's Ben Smith was obviously all too aware of that when he made the poorly judged decision to throw the ball at, then stand up to, Fruean in their recent ITM Cup match.
The massive Canterbury center had him pushed over on his back before he could say Whakatane, to which Smith replied as any little winger should do against a bigger man. He grabbed the nearest weapon that would make it a fair fight, and used it as a spear.
In the past couple of weeks we've seen some shocking tackling, in the Super 14 particularly. I'm not sure if it's the intensity of the tournament, the physicality of some of the players, or just plain over exuberance.
Whatever the case, there's absolutely no place on the rugby field for a spear tackle, and most of the time, it's landed the guilty party a suspension and somewhat of a bad reputation to go with it.
So in light of that, when I saw this fantastic hit by Greg Holmes last weekend, I figured I'd have to share it with the world. Let's be honest, we love seeing the hard hits but when they're dirty, it leaves a bit of a sour taste.
Reds' prop Holmes, famed on RD for his incredible solo try against Ireland, showed us all exactly how to stick your opponent on their backside the legal way. You'll note that halfway through his smashing of young Stormers flanker Francois Louw, Holmes gets him into the position of a typical spear tackle.
But, by controlling the tackle and driving to ground with him, as opposed to just dropping him, Holmes pulls off a one hundred percent safe, legal, and bone crunching tackle.
Powerful centre Mathieu Bastareaud was one of France’s most impressive players at the u20 Six Nations earlier this year, and is already a senior Stade Francais regular in the Top 14. He’s talented and elusive, and clearly throws his hefty 110kg frame around the field, which proved to be his downfall this a few days ago.
Against Italy in the current Under 20 World Championships in Wales, Bastareaud found himself receiving his marching orders after he was adjudged to have committed a dangerous spear tackle, worthy of a red card.
The young Fijian touch judge James Bolabiu felt that the tackle was malicious and made that recommendation to Ref Tim Hayes.
The ensuing disciplinary hearing, that took place at the Millenium Stadium earlier today, resulted in Bastareaud receiving a one week suspension, making him unavailable for the match against Wales on the weekend. He has 48 hours to appeal the ruling.
Commentator Gareth Llewellyn absolutely disagrees with the decision on the field, disputing whether it was actually a spear tackle of not. Momentum, the other centre being involved, and the power of Bastareaud may all have contributed to the manner in which the Italian player came down.
His hips where above his head and the result is that he landed dangerously. How he got there, and the other factors involved, well, that's not for us to decide, and the independent judicial officer's decision was a one week ban.
The first test of the British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand in 2005 was overshadowed by the highly controversial and much documented spear tackle on Brian O'Driscoll. Just one minute into the game, the Lions lost their pivotal center and captain, which looked to have an effect on the outcome of the game, and perhaps even the tour.
Daniel Carter kicked two penalties before an Ali Williams try, and then shortly into the second half we saw this classic score that extended the lead even further.
Aaron Mauger broke the line and offloaded excellently to the supporting Tana Umaga, who then threw a fantastic long pass out to Sitiveni Sivivatu, who stepped inside to finish superbly.
Sivivatu, playing in only his second test for the All Blacks, went on to score again in the next test. His stepping off either foot was, and still is, incredibly potent with defenders back tracking.
As for the pass from Tana Umaga, it showed pure class, allowing his winger to run onto the ball in space. Great vision, and a wonderful try all round. The converted kick followed, taking the final score of the First Test to 21-3 to the home team.
In last years Super 14, George Gregan was suspended for one match following this spear tackle on the Highlanders Richard Kahui.
The veteran Aussie was given a yellow card by referee Jonathan Kaplan but was cited after the match for the dangerous tackle. Gregan was perhaps lucky to get away with only a one week suspension considering how dangerous a tackle like this can be. Quite similar to the Lote Tuqiri tackle on Richie McCaw.
Still, as wrong as it was, it's still fairly impressive to see a scrumhalf mix it up with the bigger boys.
Western Province have once again fallen at the hands of a so called ‘minnow’ of South Africa’s Currie Cup, this time losing 38-32 in nice try thriller in Brakpan on the weekend. The Gauteng Falcons claimed the scalp of the boys from Cape Town to record a famous victory for a small union who were very much the underdogs in this one.
Province were looking for an improved performance after their loss to Griquas last weekend, but once again disappointed as the game went to the side who showed the greater heart on the night.
The Falcons, commonly known as the Valke, have impressed many with their exciting brand of rugby so far this season. The expansive aspect of the game was matched by the physical though, as we saw hits flying in from all angles.
The game produced two yellow cards and one red, all of which are possibly up for discussion.
The first yellow went to Ross Skeate, who last week was on the receiving end of a few crunching hits himself. Skeate’s tackle this week was a bit of a Brad Thorn, picking up and tossing the player to ground rather than spearing or bringing him back down safely.
Next we saw a red card for Johan Swartz, the Valke winger who picked up little Gio Aplon and flipped him around before slamming him into the ground. The tackle was possibly based on momentum, and was similar to Paul Emerick’s tackle on Olly Barkley in the World Cup last year. Swartz got his marching orders, and Aplon, despite looking badly injured at once stage, got up and carried on showing no signs of bodily harm.
Once the standard had been set, referee Marius Jonker, along with his touch judges, made a point of being consistent, so when young Francois Louw made a tackle that closely resembled a spear, he promptly got his marching orders and spent ten minutes in the cooler himself.
So in summary, 70 points, two yellows, one red, and a whole bunch of big hits and running footy on display. Just a regular night of Currie Cup rugby really.
Over to you: What are your thoughts on the tackles that were carded? It’s a nice example for us to examine and compare three supposed spear/dangerous tackles from the same game with the same ref. Were all of them dealt with accurately, or did you think that the Valke were hard done by with their red, when Western Province only got yellows?
The Wallabies beat the Springboks 41-39 in Bloemfontein in what was another frenetic Tri Nations game. A courageous comeback from the home side came to none as Kurtley Beale snatched the win with the final kick of the match.
In a repeat of last week’s match, the Wallabies got off to a flyer as they racked up the points and broke the fragile Bok defence with ease. Four tries in the space of 17 minutes got them up to a 31-6 lead.
Shortly before half time the Springboks hit back though with a great piece of play from lock Victor Matfield, who chipped the fullback, regathered, and popped the ball to Jaque Fourie for the try.
The home side then went on to continue their comeback as they miraculously got the score up to 36-31 with 11 minutes left in the match. Wallaby replacement hooker Saia Faingaa was then yellow-carded for a spear tackle, handing the advantage to South Africa.
It turned out to be a frantic finish though as the lead changed hands three times, before fullback Beale stepped up and slotted the winning kick from over 50 meters out, with his first attempt of the night. If you were sports betting and went for that to happen, you'd have done nicely.
In the end it seemed the right result, considering the pasting the Springbok defence took in the first half, but they will be disappointed to not come away with the win after such a spirited fightback.
Australia travel to Sydney next, where they will face New Zealand, already title holders, in the final match of the tournament next week.
After seeing Morne Steyn get red carded for a spear tackle a couple of weeks ago, Marius Joubert was only yellow carded for this tackle a week later. 
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