ALL BLACKS COACH Steve Hansen admitted he was concerned by his team’s indiscipline during this evening’s victory at the Aviva Stadium but took exception to suggestions they were a dirty side.
The world champions had two players — Aaron Smith and Malakai Fekitoa — sent to the sin bin and almost certainly should have had a third for a blatant infringement under their posts before half-time.
New Zealand’s penalty count was also high but when asked by RTÉ’s Clare McNamara at full-time if he was concerned by the tackling, Hansen was less than impressed.
“Do you want me to tell you we’re a dirty side or something? Is that what you’re saying?” he replied.
RTÉ Rugby / Twitter
RTÉ Rugby / Twitter / Twitter
(If the video fails to load, you can watch it here)
“This is a moving game. The first one [Cane on Henshaw] was a head-clash. There were no arms involved in it all. The one on the far side was obviously a little high… I don’t think there was any malice in it.
“Rugby is a shifting game, when you have ball carriers that move, as well as the Irish do, they’re going to change direction. We’re sometimes going to make mistakes, and sometimes people fall into tackles too.”
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
