Essentially, according to Dan Carter's autobiography, Tana Umaga, not Brian O'Driscoll, was the most aggrieved when it comes to that spear tackle incident during the first test of the 2005 Lions Tour.
'Dan Carter: The Autobiography of an All Blacks Legend' was released just yesterday.
In the opening minute of the game, Umaga and Keven Mealamu lifted and then dumped O'Driscoll on the ground. The Lions captain had dislocated his shoulder and was out of the tour. It's an injury which kept him out of action for five months.
Neither Umaga or Mealamu received punishment for the incident.
In his book, Carter laments how O'Driscoll's injury became the 'dominant storyline' following the game and that Umaga was 'hung out to dry'.
The second half was no better. We won, 21– 3, and played well, given the circumstances, but the weather ensured there was no chance of us showing the kind of running rugby we had wanted to exhibit. Instead the game is remembered mainly for Tana and Keven Mealamu’s tackle on Brian O’Driscoll which put him out of the tour. Because the match was otherwise somewhat colourless, it became the dominant storyline, and Tana in particular was hung out to dry. Within our camp, though, it became a source of strength. He was our leader, and a guy who inspired awe among our team, so we rallied around him that week. We didn’t talk about it much formally as a wider group, but between players when we met socially there was little else discussed. Thankfully Tana was cleared by the judiciary, and we approached Wellington with an edge . We knew they’d come at us, but were quietly confident we could absorb it.
In case you need some reminding, here's the tackle.
Picture credit; Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
