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Ronan O'Gara's mind blown as Cardiff horror incident sees fans say same thing
@Source: walesonline.co.uk
England international Sam Underhill was lucky escape a red card in the Challenge Cup final held in Cardiff on Friday night. The moment from the 26th minute has left rugby fans all saying the same thing, as the Bath Rugby star collided with Georgian international Davit Niniashvili of Lyon. The full-back attempted to cut back inside after initially breaking down the left flank, with Underhill connecting with him head-on-head and at speed. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. A cacophony of 'oohs' rang around the Principality Stadium as the hit went in, with the replays prompting more of the same reaction from Lyon fans. "I think he's got a clear line of sight there," began Premier Sports co-commentator and former England international Andy Goode. "I don't think there's any mitigation." However, as Goode said this, referee Hollie Davidson began to explain her decision for giving a yellow. "There is head-on-head (contact) but we are seeing a change back inside by 15, so it's going to be a yellow card." This prompted Goode to add: "You are very, very lucky," as the camera panned to Underhill. You can watch the footage below. Posting to X, formerly Twitter , after the game, co-commentator Goode simply wrote: "Red all day long." Ronan O'Gara simply wrote on X: "Players safety…." with two mind-blown emojis. Player welfare group Progressive Rugby wrote: "And just after World Rugby announces the global trial of the 20-minute red card; one has to wonder what guidance referees are being given... "Player welfare clearly isn’t front and centre of the decision-making process with the powers that be." Rugby fans and media thought the same. "Red card all day long. An appalling decision that makes a mockery of player safety," wrote one viewer. "That is as red as it gets," wrote another viewer. "A more obvious red card offence would be hard to imagine. Another bashing for player welfare," wrote rugby writer Peter Jackson. "I’ve written this tweet before," began MailOnline writer Alex Bywater. "Here goes again. Rugby consistently talks about player welfare and protection. But too often, the big on-field decisions don’t back-up the off-pitch rhetoric. Sam Underhill had to see red tonight." Bath went on to win the final convincingly, swatting aside their Top 14 opponents 37-12 at the home of Welsh rugby. Tries from Tom Dunn, Max Ojomoh, Beno Obano and Ben Spencer helped them towards their victory. For referee Davidson, she became the first woman to officiate in an EPCR final on Friday night, and despite the controversial decision to show yellow to Underhill, she had a good performance and has been praised online for her communication with players. The second European final in as many days takes place in Cardiff later, with Northampton Saints facing Bordeaux Begles on Saturday afternoon.
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