WE’VE ALL HEARD and probably used the term ‘explosive’ to describe rugby players and tries, but the below effort during last weekend’s ITM Cup action was a little more worthy of the tag.
Northland out-half Dan Hawkins was attempting to clear the ball from inside his own 22, but was blocked down by Southland openside Tim Boys. The sound of the ball leaving Hawkins’ boot was like a gunshot, and it later transpired that it had burst as the Northland man made contact.
Boys pounced on the opportunity to score, but as we can see in the video above, the ball had completely emptied of air by the time the Southland back row dotted down. Indeed, the flanker admitted he thinks the ball would have bounced dead but for its deflation after bursting.
The malfunctioning ball has sparked a review from manufacturer adidas at their base in Germany as they look to ascertain why it occurred, as reported by Rugby Heaven.
There was another notable incident in the same game, as Matt Talaese of Northland was red-carded for the dangerous clear-out of Boys in the video above.
