Talking points
- David Pocock has been targeted by a neck-roll tactic used at the breakdown.
- All Blacks and Hurricanes players have avoided punishment for the illegal move.
- Pete Samu has been called into the Wallabies squad as they scramble for a win.
- David Campese says: “I am appalled at an oversight of this nature.”
Wallabies great David Campese has slammed World Rugby for a lack of accountability in protecting David Pocock from an illegal neck-roll tactic after the star flanker was ruled out of Australia's clash against South Africa.
Pocock will miss the Test in Brisbane on Saturday night, succumbing to pain in his neck after being targeted by New Zealand at the breakdown with the use of a dangerous move to dislodge him from his position over the ball.
One of the incidents of a neck roll in the Test against the All Blacks.
His absence is a massive blow for the Wallabies' hopes of resurrecting their Rugby Championship campaign, but World Rugby and SANZAAR remain silent on the dangerous neck-roll issue threatening Pocock's longevity.
Pete Samu has been recalled to the Test squad and will be elevated to starting XV to fill the No. 8 role after Pocock struggled to get through the team' last training session on Friday.
The Wallabies will suffer without Pocock, but the players who twisted his neck avoided any sanction or warning from referees or the World Rugby citing commissioner.
World Cup-winning flanker David Wilson and ACT Brumbies coach Dan McKellar have joined a chorus of calls for a neck-roll crackdown, fearing officials won't act until someone suffers a serious injury.
SANZAAR, the governing body of Super Rugby and the Rugby Championship, says it will not issue a special edict to match officials to punish anyone who grabs a player around the neck.
There are laws to protect players heads and necks, but none have been enforced when Pocock was the target of neck rolls in Super Rugby and the Rugby Championship.
The frustration of failing to punish players stems from World Rugby's stance on high tackles and dangerous play, including Israel Folau's accidental mid-air collision, while no action is taken against neck rolls.
Campese hit out on Instagram, saying: "Why do we have laws in rugby that are not enforced?
"The neck roll is illegal and very dangerous. As a parent with kids that play the game and a coach of grassroots rugby, I am appalled at an oversight of this nature.
Sidelined: David Pocock has been ruled out of the South Africa Test due to injury.
"Where is the accountability from the referee or the IRB [World Rugby]."
Wilson, the Wallabies' No. 7 in the World Cup triumph in 1999, added: "It's not just David, it's any player in a ruck situation over the ball.
"If this is the way teams are going to move players off the ball, it's a worry. It's something that has to be closely looked at because yes, you protect the head. But you've got to protect the neck as well.
"The thing is [Pocock] is so strong. He has been by far our best and most consistent player in the last two Tests against the All Blacks. He's world class.
The Hurricanes targeted Pocock’s neck during the Super Rugby season.
"There is the technique where you twist players' upper-bodies to roll them off the ball. But [Pocock] is like a piece of concrete. They're now going to the weakest point, turn the neck and the body follows.
"It's a wrestling technique … they can't move him and the last resort is to try to turn him with their hands around his head and neck, which is not great.
"It needs to be addressed with referees. I wouldn't say it's deliberate, but in the course of trying to move him off the ball, they hit and slide off.
"They've got to crackdown on it. They've got to look at it. Good, strong back-rowers shouldn't be getting rolled away by being grabbed around the head.
"The last thing you want is someone coming up with a neck injury because it hasn't been policed."
Super Rugby officials failed to act on the problem during the Brumbies' season, despite pleas from the ACT side to give Pocock fair protection when competing for the ball.
The Otago Highlanders escaped punishment for a neck roll and the Wellington Hurricanes avoided on-field penalty when they twisted Pocock’s neck at Canberra Stadium at the end of June.
SANZAAR did issue post-game warnings to Gareth Evans and Julian Savea. Evans was warned for making contact above the line of the shoulders, while Savea was warned for an illegal cleanout.
The Brumbies were told the incidents didn't meet the red-card threshold, and therefore the players were not suspended.
Pocock struggled with pain in his neck against the Hurricanes and then couldn't turn his head after a Test against the All Blacks in New Zealand two weeks ago following similar treatment at the breakdown.
"My concern is that it's not being treated seriously," said Brumbies coach McKellar.
"Whether that's Pocock, [Michael] Hooper … whoever it is. If a player is brave enough to put their head over a breakdown at this level, they understand they're going to be a target.
"David understands he's going to be a target because he's the best in the world at that skill. They don't have a problem with being cleaned-out legally.
"But when you start pulling and twisting guys heads … I find it baffling that guys are getting yellow cards for knocking a ball down when going for an intercept, then we've got potentially serious injury and we turn a blind eye.
"Think of the NRL with the chicken wing, the crusher tackle, they were ruled out quickly and treated harshly. It shouldn't be any different at the breakdown.
"Whether it's a Brumbies player or anyone, you don't want them exposed to head and neck injuries. It just has to be ruled out, but until the powers that be start to see the importance of it and how dangerous it is, nothing will changed."
Pocock admitted he was concerned about long-term health after his neck was twisted during the second Bledisloe Cup match.
"As a player, you feel that after games and it’s not something you want to think too much about," Pocock said.
"I copped a knock and then a bit of a neck roll, it’ll be sore but hopefully it’s nothing serious," Pocock said.
"There were a few during Super. It’s something the refs said they were going to really look at.
"The Brumbies put in a few citing, where you try to get someone cited, and none were accepted as meeting the threshold."
Source: Read Full Article