Andrew Porter has avoided a ban for his high challenge on New Zealand’s Brodie Retallick during Ireland’s third Test victory over the All Blacks last Saturday.
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The Leinster loosehead was given a yellow card by referee Wayne Barnes on the night after he made head-on-head contact with Retallick when trying to make a tackle. Barnes said Porter was “absorbing” the tackle, therefore the level of force was low and a red card was avoided.
Retallick suffered a broken jaw in the collision and did not return from his HIA.
Since the match, Porter was subsequently cited for an act of foul play contrary to law 9.13 (a player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously). In the hearing chaired by an independent panel, Porter admitted to committing foul play but denied that his tackle met deserved a red card.
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The panel agreed, thus vindicating Barnes’ decision from the Test, with World Rugby announcing that “the player’s act of foul play for breaching law 9.13 did not meet the red card threshold due to the absorbing nature of the tackle.”
New Zealand’s Angus Tava’ao was banned for three weeks for a similar collision with Garry Ringrose in the second Test, World Rugby deciding his challenge had more force.
