Former England winger Chris Ashton believes Manu Tuilagi should have been punished for his controversial tackle on Harlequins fly-half Tommaso Allan.
Despite appearing to make direct contact with Allan’s head without wrapping his arms, referee Wayne Barnes and the TMO ruled that there was no foul play in the incident involving Tuilagi.
As a result of the ruling, Barnes awarded a scrum to Sale for Allan’s knock-on.
Allan was subsequently stretchered off the pitch with a serious head injury after 55 minutes.
However, Ashton believes Tuilagi choose to commit to the tackle from far too far away to be in control when he collided with Allan.
Speaking on the BBC Rugby Union Weekly Podcast, he said: “How is that a rugby incident
“Manu decided way before he got to that point he was going to hit Tommy as hard as he could when he landed.”
Manu Tuilagi beating up Chris Ashton is the most watched rugby video on Youtube
Manu Tuilagi’s infamous punch on Chris Ashton has hit the spotlight again, becoming the most watched rugby video on Youtube.
“Say what you like about Ashton but it shows something if you can stand after punches like that,” wrote one fan.
Another added: “Not sending off Tuilagi is the most biased nonsense I’ve ever seen. He swipes Ashton off the ball (minimum yellow), Ashton pushes him back, then Tuilagi punches him 2-3 times (red).”
“Man what a punch… And he’s standing after that… This guy should be boxing instead of playing rugby,” a third added.
The most overrated rugby players in history have been ranked by fans
Back-Three:
- 15. Johan Goosen (South Africa) – “He was supposed to be the next big thing for Springbok rugby, and now he’s barely remembered.”
- 14. George North (Wales) – “is the most overrated player of this generation, when was the last time he had a good game that wasn’t against Italy.”
- 11. Chris Ashton (England) – ” That man lived off his ‘solo’ try against Australia and managed to get in the England team every time. He couldn’t tackle a crossword! Lacks creativity and only works running a line of a short pass from number ten. Overrated definitely!”
