Hurricanes back-rower Ardie Savea performed a ‘throat slit’ gesture to a Melbourne Rebels player, after he was sent to the sin bin.
The gesture has been criticised by rugby fans and pundits alike, calling it ‘unprofessional’.
Savea was issued a yellow card for his involvement in a scrap, despite not starting the altercation. When the Hurricanes halted a rolling maul, an argument broke out between the two sets of players. Savea was in the thick off it, and relentlessly confronted Carter Gordan.
The Rebels fly half breaks away, with Savea then turning his attention to full-back Joe Pincus. The hot-headed confrontation sees Savea sin-binned by the referee, which angered Savea who protested his involvement. Upon his dismissal, the All Black performs a ‘throat slit’ gesture to an off-screen Rebels player, which provoked a strong reaction from the Melbourne crowd.
Savea apologised for the gesture after the match.
“I can understand the fans are furious around the gesture that I made, mate. It’s just a heat of the moment kind of thing, you know. It’s footie, but I understand kids are watching us, but we were in the heat of the moment. Usually that’s out of character for me. I put my hand up first and I apologise for that.”