Outrage from fans as Wood escapes sanction

FANS took to Twitter yesteday to question the controversial decision not to penalise Northampton Saints flanker Tom Wood for a dangerous clear out on Leinster’s Josh Van Der Flier at RDS Arena.

Wood made direct contact with Van Der Flier’s head at a ruck, below, leaving the Leinster flanker rolling round on the ground in pain during the final ten minutes of the Champions Cup clash.

Following advice from the TMO, referee Pierre Brousset consulted a monitor on the side of the pitch and decided there was no foul play at the breakdown.

Leinster won the game 35-19 leaving them top of Pool A in the competition but fans have disagreed with the decision.

@JeddOwen said: The refereeing in the #LEINvNOR game has been inconsistent at best! Tom Wood should have been sent off and then the Leinster player should have been sin binned for a late and high tackle just now!

@joshgardner wrote: Is the Brian O’Driscoll currently defending Tom Wood’s right to smash Van Der Flier in the head at the ruck on BT Sport the same BOD who spoke three days ago about the duty of explayers and pundits to change the way they talk about these incidents given the CTE lawsuit?

@buck_mitchell wrote: Think Tom Wood is lucky there, but I think his angle of entry into the ruck was what caused the problem. If he had entered from the hind most foot I think he has a better chance of finding a lower contact point @AncientKeeper said: ...and how is Tom Wood still on the field? Surely the debate is Yellow or Red – not whether it’s a legitimate ‘rugby incident’?

@architectom89 wrote: Commentary and ref ’s call completely wrong there. “Nowhere for Tom Wood’s shoulder to go?” How about he doesn’t make shoulder contact with the player’s head? Are we not in the midst of a brain damage in rugby scandal?