Quote from: magpie seanie on December 21, 2015, 04:19:26 PMQuote from: brokencrossbar1 on December 18, 2015, 09:35:21 AM
5 Sams I've said it before and I'll say it again but that picture does not tell the story. Still photos are notorious for misinformation. It does not mention the hospital pass that Coulter gave Linden nor the fact that Linden was turning round as he met Francie and was wide open. It was a frontal shoulder but no raised elbow or anything like that. As you can clearly see Francie has his arm neatly tucked by his side and is the perfect shape for a shoulder charge. It was off line but not the worst, it was the pass and Linden's movement left himself vulnerable.
I'm sorry BC1 but the challenge was indefensible because there was zero chance of connecting side to side or shoulder to shoulder. Francie might have been, ahem, unlucky, to connect with the face rather than the chest but it was designed to take the man out. Zero attempt to play the ball, only interested in the man (and as you correctly pointed out the ball to Linden was not fantastic so he could have made a play on it). He would have been sin binned or possibly even red carded for that in rugby for heavens sake. It was reckless, he was out of control.
You're not alone in your assessment and indeed many times I've seen lads booked for this they go ballistic with the ref, pointing at their shoulder as if you can just go round hitting lads with your shoulder as you please.
I don't believe it was indefensible. There's no doubt, Francie was never going to play the ball but he made a career out of timing hard hits and occasional late ones! Something that seems to be overlooked in that tackle was that Stephen Kernan played a big part. Aside from the (aptly named) hospital pass from Coulter, Kernan reached over McAlinden's shoulder and pulled him back which left him wide open, turning him into Francie's hit.