Morgan Parra was destroyer in chief as Clermont got the better of Leicester Tigers in round 3 of the Heineken Cup, winning the game 30-12 following two yellow cards for the visitors. Here’s a look at what happened as Alain Rolland sent two to the sin-bin.
Fresh from making a huge call at the Rugby World Cup, referee Rolland was in the thick of it again as this time he was required to judge on a rather complicated situation that involved two players making dangerous tackles at the exact same time.
In the case of George Chuter, he and Clermont scrumhalf Morgan Parra had started a little scuffle on the floor in the previous phase of play. In fact they had only just split up and returned back into their defensive and attacking lines respectively when the action came their way again.
In a fairly amusing case of having his meal served up right in front of him, Chuter had the opportunity to smash Parra legally, and he went for it. Unfortunately for him his timing was a bit off – not that he was too bothered – and he hit the smaller man without the ball. Parra milked it, as one does, and another fight between the two ensued.
At the exact same time Manu Tuilagi, who was only just back from a cheek injury, put in a high tackle on prop Vincent Debatty. Referee Rolland consulted with his touch judge and they actually did quite well to spot what had happened, resulting in yellow cards for both Tuilagi and Chuter. Parra, who was up and fine again, could be seen taunting them as they left the field.
There has also been talk of a bite on the arm of Chuter, which can be seen very briefly at the very end of the video. Nothing more has come of that though, with no complaints and no citings.
“The atmosphere in Clermont is pretty volatile, and everyone lies down as if they have been shot, but Alain is a good referee and he dealt with it as he saw fit,” said Tigers coach Richrd Cockerill.
“We will just crack on in this competition. The best side won on the day and obviously the yellow cards didn’t help us,” added Cokerill, referring to the heavy loss away from home. Clermont travel to Welford Road for the return leg this weekend in what should be another fascinating battle.
