Super Rugby and its heavyweight vs bantamweight issue

Samipeni Finau wants to kill someone

In the Super Rugby competition one of the current news stories is around the Chief's player Samipeni Finau. Here's why;

https://twitter.com/ChristypDoran/status/1783794027911094716

Sampeni is196 cm (6 ft 5 in) and 115 kg (254 lb; 18 st 2 lb) as is normal for the position that he plays (flanker, lock). One of the jobs of his position, especially as flanker, is to roam around and get in the way of the opposition inside backs. One of those inside backs the number 10 or flyhalf is very often a much smaller player than Sampeni or any other lock or flanker. But Finau is not just getting in their faces, he’s basically trying to take them out of the game.

Here are some of the players that Sampeni has targeted this year;

Tom Lynagh - 178 cm (5 ft 10 in), 83 kg (183 lb; 13 st 1 lb)

Noah Lolesio 180 cm (5 ft 11 in), 89 kg (196 lb; 14 st 0 lb)

William Havili - 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in), 84 kg (185 lb; 13 st 3 lb)

He has near 30kgs on all of them and is also significantly taller than they are. On Friday night just gone the latest splat was Tane Edmed who plays #10 (also known as flyhalf or 1st five) for New South Wales.

Finau hit on Edmed

I havn't watched the full game so I don't know if this hit had a say in the final score. But regardless it is reckless. And he should be carded for these hits. In fact he should be given the rest of the year out to sort out his attitude.

John Kirwan, tall and big for his positon of wing at the time (1980s/90s) - 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in), Weight 92 kg (14 st 7 lb) - and an All Black from 30 years ago

is now a television commentator, after being a coach in charge of both Italy (2002–05) and Japan (2007–11), and has come out strongly in Finau's corner and wonders why we should even be talking about it. Other commentators have been more circumspect in their discussion of it including the Chief’s coach. The Australian commentators on the other hand are somewhat livid and are probably thinking of forming a vigilante group to address this problem.

Well on the same weekend as this happened and on the other side of the Tasman Sea in club rugby in Auckland this happened.

Cory Heather dies from a knee to the head in Auckland club rugby

He was playing in 85kgs and under to try and stop the above from happening. It didn't work, Cory Heather died on Sunday night from a knee to the head in a club game between his team the Beachlands Maraetai Rugby Club Senior under 85kgs;

Maraetai Rugby Club Seniors

and the Patumahoe Rugby Football Club;

Patumahoe Rugby Football Club

Now I’m not sure if this is Cory’s team in the first photo or the opposition team in the second photo but they both could be as they look to be within that weight group.

And I don’t know the details around what happened on Saturday so I cannot say whether this incident was innocent or not (let’s hope that it is).

But regardless it is time to put a stop to this violence masquerading as rugby. The first thing that should happen is that John Kirwan should do a mea culpa and apologise for being wrong as he is so very, very wrong¹. And then maybe if the Rugby authorities prove unable to address this (very quickly) then there should be some arrests before Samipeni Finau kills someone or, maybe worse, one of the other Super Rugby teams fixes the issue with a similar level of violence. As that temptation must be there.

1. What’s more Kirwan may have made this statement before the club game above which led to Cory’s death. I have yet to confirm those details.