New Zealand Rugby’s provincial championship has returned for the 2023 season this weekend.
Stacked to the gills with quality, the Championship has long been a breeding ground for the next wave of All Black talent.
Squaring off in round one of this year’s championship, defending Champions Wellington travelled to face Manawatu.
In a rather niggly affair, Wellington emerged with a 22 – 6 win to get their title defence off to the perfect start.
Leaving empty handed, Manawatu will be frustrated with their performance but will likely be more annoyed with an incident involving replacement Josh Taula.
Putting in what can only be described as a nasty off the ball shot, the utility forward hit Wellington fullback Ruben Love.
Putting full force behind it with no arms, the challenge was more of a charge than a tackle attempt following Love’s kick.
Naturally the incident was followed by some pushing and shoving as Love recovered from the hit.
A red card earning cheap shot from Manawatu vs Wellington
by u/HayMrDj in rugbyunion
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