Saturday, June 21, 2008
Richard Kahui and Matthew Tait's big headclash
The second New Zealand vs England Test was, despite the final score, a physically demanding game that left it's toll. One of the biggest clashes of the night, if not the biggest, was when star debutant Richard Kahui flew into Matthew Tait, head first.
Kahui flew into Tait with force, but simply went too high, and with Tait ducking slightly, the result was a header to Tait's face that would have done a football striker proud.
Kahui attended to Tait immediately, as both players were left bleeding, with Tait coming off significantly worse, with blood seemingly coming from under his eye, his nose, and even his mouth.
It was a horrific clash and one that left the young fullback looking like he'd done a round in the boxing ring. "He has a pretty nasty gash," said England caretaker coach Rob Andrew.
"It was a pretty unfortunate incident. I don't think there was any intent there and it was just a clashing of heads. It looked pretty nasty but is not as bad as we initially feared."
Bruised, bloodied, and shaken, Tait, who once again looked dangerous with ball in hand, left the field with his face in tatters, and will no doubt have a horrible headache in the morning.
Time: 03:06
Posted at 10:16 pm | 36 comments
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Posted in Big Hits & Dirty Play
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Viewing 36 comments
Anonymous June 21, 2008 9:03 pm
looks like he hits the back of his head on Kahui's knee as well
TheFullback June 21, 2008 9:23 pm
Could have been a broken nose, broken jaw and fractured cheek-bone...he was seriously luckyDoes anyone actually know how bad Tait's injurys are?
Anonymous June 21, 2008 9:55 pm
I respect the fact that Kahui showed concern, we have to always remember this is a sport, with codes of honour.Good show All Black.
Anonymous June 21, 2008 10:15 pm
Kahui's tackle was reckless and ill-timed, he should've walked for that
AbbyNo7 June 21, 2008 10:21 pm
Shame for Tait. Good effort by Kahui to check up on him. It was genuine concern. Similar to Umaga putting Colin Charvis in the safety position after getting knocked out by a hit from Jerry Collins in 2003. And John the fisherman "hahaha the faggots"? What is up with that?
Anonymous June 21, 2008 10:22 pm
Nah, fair tackle, it was just an accident - it happens on the pitch. Fair play to Kahui for checking he was ok.Good on Tait for getting up too.
caucau's no.1 fan June 21, 2008 10:41 pm
im sure john the fisherman has played professional rugby, and was in fact one of the hardest players of all time. therefore hes probably in a position to call professional players faggots when they run at each other and clash at full speed. if only matthew tait was as hard as the world famous john the fisherman. o wait your probably one of thoses guys whos lives is so insignificant that mocking international rugby players is as good as it will ever get for you!
goodNumber10 June 21, 2008 11:00 pm
I just want to say that the photo of Kahui kneeling beside matt tait is absolutely stunning.don't know who took it but it's a brilliant photo.bad clash though, just one of those things thats look s way worse then it actually is, and well impressed with Kahui going to help Tait so quickly.Good impressive debut form the lad, Smiths got a battle on his hands.
Rancid June 21, 2008 11:20 pm
"Anonymous said... Kahui's tackle was reckless and ill-timed, he should've walked for that"Are you serious!? As an English man i'd strongly disagree.It's one of those unfortunate incidents. You cannot fault Kahui, he put his head down and went reasonably low. And Matthew Tait is one of those players, who if you've seen him play before you'd know, gets pretty fucking low when starting off a run in an attempt to build speed.It was simply a mismatch and unfortunate incident. Nobody is to blame.It's that simple.
Eric June 21, 2008 11:31 pm
Yes.. no bad intention at all, just bad luck, very bad luck
boomshanka June 22, 2008 12:47 am
yeah, big clash - good to hear Tait is ok ... one of the few English who had an above average game i thought.
Pedro Fleury June 22, 2008 2:50 am
tait, once again, proving he deserves to be in the starting XV for england ...
Anonymous June 22, 2008 6:17 am
Bad head clash but good on Kahui for showing concern for Tait could see that Kahui knew it was a bad one.
Frontrow/winger June 22, 2008 11:59 am
nasty clash but tait was lucky not to get knocked out cold when he hit his head off Kahui's knee! Great sportsmanship though and goodnumber10 it was a v.g picture!
no 9 June 22, 2008 12:41 pm
i love it that even his opponent was able to realise that it was a serious injury and help instantly
Anonymous June 22, 2008 1:36 pm
it should say tait left with his face it TAITers!!hahahaha get it!!
martin June 22, 2008 1:41 pm
nasty clash, just part of the game though. tait should be fullback, brown was shown up for pace by sivivatu in the first test and you can't have that at test level
Anonymous June 22, 2008 10:36 pm
pedro fleury definitely agree that tait should be in the XV longterm he s always been good whether at newcastle/england..what the coaches thought a combination of noon and tindall offered i dont know!
nick June 23, 2008 4:40 am
credit to the new zealand player for showing concern. New zealanders always show it when its needed, e.g. tana umanga and colin charvis.Great respect to them for that and im English
hamish m June 23, 2008 4:06 pm
"New zealanders always show it when its needed, e.g. tana umanga and colin charvis."And like Tana and B O'D. Oh, wait...And that definitely wasn't a high tackle - bit of bad luck but his shoulders and arms were lower than Tait's shoulders.
Tony June 23, 2008 11:16 pm
Respect for Kahui on this one. I'm a big fan of Matt Tait, think he had a great game considering and was sorry to see him go off in such a state. Like the sensible ones have said, just a clash of heads and nothing intentional here. Nice one Richard, you're in my 'quality sportsman' books.
chris June 24, 2008 12:00 am
good on kahui. pure class shown. unfortunate incident.
Anonymous June 24, 2008 10:17 am
theres a famous saying "shit happes" applies well to the situation
Anonymous June 24, 2008 10:39 am
so anonymous wat does 'shit happers' mean then exactly??shit happens i would understand but 'shit happers' i just dont get!!
Shaft June 24, 2008 12:08 pm
"I just want to say that the photo of Kahui kneeling beside matt tait is absolutely stunning."That'a Greiffel's editing btw - the pic didn't look like that before. I'm from the school of thought that thinks that if someone flies in high like that and knocks a player out with his head, then yes, he deserves to be penalised. I know it wasn't intentional, but it was clumsy to an extent, and at the end of the day he absolutely smashed Tait and ended his night, therefore, it's his fault. No intent, but it's the same as a car accident - you don't mean for it to happen, but if you knock someone over, you deserve to pay. Okay that's a bit dramatic. Anyone understand what I'm trying to say though?
Anonymous June 24, 2008 4:16 pm
yes i see what your saying dude...kind of like if you were stuck in a SHAFT then you would take legal action on the company!!!hahahahahahahaha!! you get it?man i just keep cracking these jokes
Rugbydump June 24, 2008 4:57 pm
Anonymous above, no comedian ever made it big without a good stage name, so kindly use one, otherwise your Anonymous commenting will be deleted from now on, thanks.
Sander June 26, 2008 12:22 pm
"six stitches was all he had"Really? Tait looked like a zombie when he was carted off! I thought Tait hit the back of his head on Kahui's knees as well, so I thought he would have some serious concussion as well.Kahui's tackle was a bit high going in, but nothing malicious or intentional. Good to see Kahui's concern for Tait!
tai June 27, 2008 8:25 am
accidents happen like that all the time. Never mind tait. Good on kahui for showing concern so quickly because he was also hurt after the head clash.
bryan June 27, 2008 12:51 pm
he was leading with his head surely - had it been an england player doing that what would ref had done,,,??
Cheyanqu July 24, 2008 1:52 pm
Great class from Kahui.This is the difference between Union, and League and Soccer..In League, Kahui would be standing over him, taunting him.In Soccer, both teams would run over to the referee, bitching and moaning about something.
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