ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
REGISTER
LOGIN
ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
Wednesday Jan 3, 2018

Dangerous 'chop tackle' causes bad knee injury, sparks debate

This tackle, that took place in Spain recently, has caused a large amount of debate on our social media pages after we shared it yesterday. The challenge, made by Alex Silvestre in the Spanish 2nd Division match in Valencia, unfortunately resulted in a bad knee injury.

As you can see, Silvestre comes in from the side, while another player takes the hard running opposition from behind, causing him to end up in a really awkward position.

The tackle itself, despite being courageous, was not perfect from a technical standpoint as he got his head on the wrong side, but it’s the way that he chopped the legs that has caused the stir, and no doubt angered the referee.

‘Chop tackles’, when players dive in and hit the knees or below with their shoulders first, have been penalised in recent years due to the dangerous impact they can cause.

While we can only see one angle and the player appears to make an attempt to wrap his arms around the ball carrier, the result was unfortunately a very serious knee injury, reportedly an ACL tear (according to our sources).

The referee immediately blew his whistle upon impact, as in his view, it was dangerous. The consensus online, however, has been that the tackle was fair.

Was this even a ‘chop tackle’? Have a look for yourself and let us know what you think of it.

We wish the injured player well in his recovery!

UPDATE: Argentina stalwart Horacio Agulla also shared his thoughts on the debate:

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    dubious try seals derby result

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible celebrations at schools rugby

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    The next billy vunipola



ADVERTISEMENT

Great Tries

  • 6 DAYS AGO

    Incredible Camera Work During URC Clash Shows Rugby Player’s Athleticism

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Heart Breaking Six Nations Ending For Italy As Scotland Score Long Range Try

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Montpellier Number Eight Zach Mercer Outlandish Attacking Skill

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Damian Penaud Pulls Off a "van der Merwe" in Outrageous French Try

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Ireland Winger James Lowe With World Class Finish In Titanic Battle With France

View All

Big Hits & Dirty Play

  • 1 DAY AGO

    Italian player cops nine week ban following on field bust up

  • 4 DAYS AGO

    Close Up Angle Of La Rochelle Secondrow Will Skelton Laying Into Opposition

  • 5 DAYS AGO

    Referee Luke Pearce Gets Hit Hard In Harlequins vs Saracens Clash

  • 6 DAYS AGO

    Owen Farrell On The Receiving End Of An Illegal Hit

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Refereeing Legend Nigel Owens Breaks Down Freddie Steward Incident

View All

See It To Believe It

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea Moment Of Magic In Super Rugby Aotearoa

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    'Armchair athletes' berate Arundell's seriously impressive bench press

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Worcester Warriors - The End

  • 9 WEEKS AGO

    Sevens magic as 'headed' try brings stadium to its feet

  • 10 WEEKS AGO

    Almost 35,000 have now signed petition to reverse new grassroots tackle laws

View All

Funnies

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Whole Irish squad turn up to teammates parents house for drinking session

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Jonathan Sexton Fantastic Comeback Caught On Ref Mic

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Hilarious Footage Of English Players Post Leg Day Workout

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Mack Hansen leaves viewers in stitches with hilarious post-match interview mistake

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    A Look Back At Rugby’s Greatest Ever Film

View All

Amateur

  • 12 WEEKS AGO

    You Won’t See Many Better Than This Silky-Smooth Try From Llandovery RFC

  • 12 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes As Caldy RFC Hand Ealing First Championship Defeat Of The Season

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    Dubious Score Decides Result Of Rugby's Biggest Schools Fixture

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes At School Boys Rugby Match

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    The Next Dominant Backrow?

View All

Player Features

  • 1 DAY AGO

    Italian player cops nine week ban following on field bust up

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Youth and experience combine in an effort to repeat Six Nations upset

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Wales international releases emotional statement after being offered contract that isn’t enough to feed family

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea causes outrage with ‘throat slitting’ gesture

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Smith, Marchant and Murley released from England camp to take part in 'Big Game 14'

View All