Toulon lock Romain Faofifenua has been cited for an incident in their victory against Ulster on Saturday. The video below shows, the Ulster faithful were very upset with what happened as Faofifenua kicked Stuart Olding in the head when trying to get to the ball.
We all know rugby is a physical sport. There are laws in place to attempt to stop serious injuries but there is always the danger in any sport. However, sometimes reckless play goes unpunished because there is no law in place to deal with it.
On Saturday, Faofifenua makes a tackle on Stuart Olding at the beginning of the second half. Faofifenua then got up to contest for the ball, and when Chris Henry cleans him out, Faofifenua tries to stick a boot into the ruck to disrupt the ball.
The problem with this though, is that his boot struck Olding flush on the head. Olding is lying down vulnerable in the ruck and can't see it coming. In no way do we think it was Faofifenua intention to kick Olding in the head, there is no way he can see through Henry at where Olding is. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a very reckless action. At worst, a low kick like that at a ruck will kick Olding in the back.
The IRB, or soon to be World Rugby, needs to take action to stop reckless kicking like that at a ruck, especially now that concussions are at the forefront of people's worries. Some concussions are an unfortunate risk, but reckless kicking can be avoided.
That's not to say that disruptive feet shouldn't be allowed. Munster are particular good at this tactic, but the main difference is that their boots come over the player on the ground, and rarely does it ever look like they will be harmed.
We now wait to see if something will come from this citing.
