So are you saying that both this tackle and Polki's was fine and didn't need any more sanction then was dealt out oin the game?
No, quite the reverse. I was, I think, the first poster to raise Poki's spear tackle and question why it was not properly dealt with. At the time the general consensus was that I was over-reacting. One week later and Digby's got five weeks for the virtually identical offence. And a fire-storm has started. Both tackles should have had red or yellow cards (depending on what the refs actually saw) and white cards for follow-up. Both deserved time off. As it is Poki didn't even get penalised and Digby got five weeks.
My reading of what happened is some high-ups in the judiciary saw what had happened with Poki and were aghast. Given that Bryce Lawrence is a New Zealand protected species nothing was said publicly but the private word went out that lifting tackles were to be punished severely from here on in. In the Tahs match a lifting tackle was penalised but because it was not past the horizontal it was only a penalty. I am sure that this also happened in another early match. And then Digby did his thing.....
Just to prove Link is not perfect, the crackdown was obvious befrore the Sharks/Reds game. There should have been a warning in the sheds pre-game to be especially careful not to offend.
The Sanzar judicial system was substantially revamped this year in order to bring some consistency. That has dramatically failed and we are only four rounds in.
