Does TPN have good tackling technique? No. Would it be good if it was better? Yes, mostly for TPN so he didn't knock himself out so often. Has anyone suffered a serious injury from being tackled by TPN in this manner? No. Has TPN played at the highest levels of rugby for five years? Yes. Has he been penalised for this form of tackling specifically? Not that anyone can identify.
Player safety is obviously important and, as Stu Dickinson said on the Podslam, be a refereeing priority. Beyond TPN hurting himself, I simply don't see what the argument is here.
The comparison to a chop block doesn't hold water. A
chop block occurs when a second blocker goes low one an already-blocked defender so that he is "chopped" between the two attacking players. Mostly, it happens accidentally -- a running back, for instance, goes for a low or cut block on a defender and does not realise another blocker has already picked up the man. Usually it happens on a blitz or a draw or another play where there is more unpredictability in the tackle box. It's particularly dangerous because of force being applied from two (often opposing) directions. It can snap knees and ankles pretty easily. At worst, TPN's technique is analogous to a cut block, a somewhat dangerous but not illegal move. The major -- and, for me, definitive -- difference is that TPN strikes a ball-carrier who expects to be tackled. It's a tackle, not a block and thus very different.
