Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Clermont beat Stade Francais - Big hits by Leguizamon and Liebenberg

Clermont beat arch rivals Stade Francais 21-19 in the Top 14 in front of an incredible 79 842 spectators, a record for a regular season French championship game.
It was a thrilling match that ultimately came down to a battle of the kickers, with Brock James and Lionel Beauxis exchanging kicks. James came out on top though, slotting the vital penalty that came after a big tackle on Aurelien Rougerie only a few minutes from time.
Beauxis had an opportunity to kick a winning penalty with time up, but missed.
The two hits from the game that were featuring are as much different as they are spectacular. The first is a sensational covering tackle from Argentinean Juan Manuel Leguizamon on the powerful runner and try scoring machine, Napolioni Nalaga.
While at first glance it might have looked like a regulation tackle, further replays will show what a solid hit it was, taking out the big mans legs and preventing the try that he would normally so easily score from that position.
The second hit in this clip is that of the more disgraceful type, with Stade center Brian Liebenberg putting in this big shoulder on Rougerie.
A shoulder check, late in the game, Liebenberg was shown yellow and handed Clermont victory by giving away the penalty, which James duly converted.
Time: 02:00
Posted at 9:31 pm | 34 comments
Posted in Big Hits & Dirty Play
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Viewing 34 comments
Scotsdale April 15, 2009 10:43 pm

and.. out of spite.. FIRST btw!
Gavin April 15, 2009 11:26 pm

it recalls me hernandez on tuilagi 2 years ago
SF players are famous for their "muscle" defense
Anonymous April 16, 2009 12:26 am

Anonymous April 16, 2009 12:59 am

KP April 16, 2009 1:00 am

Yaoi April 16, 2009 2:09 am

79,000 attendance is AMAZING for a club game.
Anonymous April 16, 2009 2:31 am

Great hit btw.
Anonymous April 16, 2009 2:37 am

It's a shame Clermont weren't able to get out of their group in the HC. They're a great team.
Anonymous April 16, 2009 3:05 am

Chris, Syd Aust April 16, 2009 5:59 am

no credit should be given like annoymous said... placing the ball is force of habit for these players now, thats just how you play rugby
Ruck_Off April 16, 2009 7:01 am

Richie April 16, 2009 7:31 am

in the french league they have an extra prop on the bench to try and combat uncontested scrums which were happening to frequently.
Now you have an extra prop and if they all get injured and you can't bring on a replacement, then you play with 14. It's a good way to stop teams forcing uncontested scrums when they're getting hammered in the scrum.
opfazonk April 16, 2009 9:51 am

Anonymous April 16, 2009 10:49 am

His arms were kind of wrapped around and at the end of the day, every good tackle is a solid hit from the shoulder. Anyone who polays knows that you hit with the point of your shoulder. Try to smash a guy with just your arms and see what happens.
Anonymous April 16, 2009 11:38 am

Anonymous April 16, 2009 12:27 pm

whos the clermont fullback??
Anonymous April 16, 2009 12:59 pm

Anonymous April 16, 2009 1:02 pm

Anonymous April 16, 2009 1:16 pm

caucau's no.1 fan April 16, 2009 4:43 pm

Anonymous April 16, 2009 7:59 pm

martin-offload April 16, 2009 10:22 pm

Anonymous April 16, 2009 11:57 pm

The bizzare fear of shoulder charges is stupid. I've been shoulder charged loads of times and I did just fine. In fact, when you have the ball, there's nothing better than riding out a shoulder charge and sending the defender flying, very staisfying.
And anyone who says league is just centres running at each other hasn't played the game, and is therefore coming from a position of ignorance. Basically they should shut the hell up.
I've played both games, and they are very similar.
Anonymous April 17, 2009 12:17 am

Anonymous April 17, 2009 12:19 am

Anonymous April 17, 2009 12:21 am

Because it's murder, as you can see
Boz April 17, 2009 6:23 am

I can't think of a better compliment.
caucau's no.1 fan April 17, 2009 3:03 pm

rougeries known for being a tart, hes even sued people for getting injuries on the field. he milked it for the penalty because he knew it would seal the win, so think about it before you start bitching.
high tackles are dangerous thats obvious, spear tackles can break peoples necks, but shoulder charges arent dangerous. you say about the skill of the tackle, every tackle involves using your shoulder so theres essentially no difference. penalising shoulder charges is penalising something which occurs anyway. nobody tackles with just their arms, as people that actually play rugby on this page, of which there appear to be few, would know arm tackles get broken by decent runners. best tackler in the world - jonny wilkinson who its with his shoulder. as for the forward pass comment, that makes absolutely no sense. allowing shoulder charges may stop union from becoming a soft sport like rougerie wants it to be. all these people saying dont ruin our game, the traditions of the game are hard and brutal. the irony in these comments is unreal, what a bunch of chumps!
mario April 18, 2009 6:37 pm

vamos los pumas
hello tri nations
aussie rugby fan April 19, 2009 8:50 pm

or are "high" shoulder charges in rugby league safe also ?
you morons - when u get hit with one you will know - at least if you wrap your arms its clear your not out to intentionally damage someones neck - although you can hit hard enough to do it this way too. its just not malicious
play park footy for 40 minutes with some Samoan's or fijians in oz or nz and you will know why they are illegal. watch out for the last 20 as they start to tire
play some league in Sydney's balmain or canterbury - make sure you have some private health cover
caucau's no.1 fan April 20, 2009 1:29 am

your talking about high tackles. high tackles have nothing to do with shoulder charges. if you high tackle someone and use your arms your more likely to break someones neck. the way your most likely to break your neck is the actual tackler having bad technique and compressing their neck. as for the whole malicious debate, everyone wants to make the hardest hit to get an advantage on their opponent. from what your saying, it seems you dont like them because they can be painful. suggest you take up netball or something!
Anonymous April 21, 2009 12:41 am















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