PATHETIC CITE
Tigers boss hits out at discipline chiefs after Tuilagi cleared over ‘dangerous’ challenge
LEICESTER boss Matt O’Connor blasted the decision to cite Manu Tuilagi after his England centre was cleared of dangerous play.
A day after match citing commissioner Jeff Mark deemed Tuilagi’s tackle to be worthy of a red card, an independent disciplinary committee disagreed.
It means Tuilagi is free to take on Saracens this Sunday, but Tigers are miffed at the “unnecessary disruption” caused to their star man. “It’s what it does to Manu in the state that he’s in,” said O’Connor. “He comes back and plays the game physically and legally. It makes everyone unnecessarily cautious about the physicality and collisions.
“The sanction has to be a red-card offence and from our perspective it was not. There was no malice, there was no intent to hurt the bloke. It was a very legitimate tackle.” O’Connor (above) believes the decision to cite – widely condemned by pros and explayers alike – was a reaction to “the broader community around health and safety and player welfare”. He added: “Everyone involved in the game has to be a bit more accountable for the actions they take. “The players and the coaches certainly are and we’d like the rest of rugby to be just as accountable. The citing commissioners need to be a bit more accurate with what they’re sanctioning and what they’re not.”
A tribunal heard evidence from, among others, Tuilagi, who pleaded not guilty to the offence in what was his first match back from a threemonth injury lay-off.
The panel found that he had committed a reckless act of foul play, in that his shoulder made contact with the head of Munster flanker Chris Cloete.
But they were not satisfied that it warranted a red card and dismissed the complaint.