Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
JOE SCHMIDT SAYS that Wallabies flanker Carlo Tizzano had to deal with 54Gs of force hitting him when Jac Morgan cleared him out at the final breakdown in last weekend’s second Lions Test.
The Wallabies felt they should have had a penalty for Morgan’s clearout just before Hugo Keenan scored the winning try in Melbourne, but referee Andrea Piardi decided that there had been no foul play involved.
Tizzano has been left out of the Wallabies’ matchday 23 for this weekend’s third and final Test against the Lions and while Schmidt said the flanker didn’t suffer a concussion, they felt it was better to leave him out.
The Australia head coach hit out at criticism of Tizzano, who has been accused of diving by some pundits and supporters.
“He’s had a really tough week, Carlo,” said Schmidt.
“He’s copped a lot of online abuse, and the only thing I’d say in defence of Carlo is that just over 54Gs of direct force went through his neck, along with almost 2,200 revs of rotational force, which is enough to cause serious injury, not to a rugby player who’s as well conditioned as Carlo, but he’s probably best just left to take a deep breath.
“I think we’re all aware of Newton’s third law, that for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction. When that force hits him and the speed of his head collapsing down, he recoiled out the back of the ruck.
“I don’t think he wanted to recoil like that, but that’s the nature of the force; there’s an equal and opposite reaction.
“For Carlo, it’s better that he sits this one out. We weren’t sure about him on Tuesday. He was still pretty sore. He was great today, he was right back to the irrepressible character that he is.”
Schmidt said he has told Tizzano not to look at the abuse on social media.
“I’ve advised Carlo to stay away from the media full stop and the opinions that are out there,” said Schmidt.
“We’ve tried to deal with the facts, and what forces occurred, and to let him know that we know what caused the equal and opposite reaction, and we have faith in him, and that will continue.”
The Wallabies have already lost the series, but Schmidt is hopeful his men can deliver a big performance in the final Test this weekend. He has made four changes to his starting XV.
The Lions are looking to make it a 3-0 series whitewash at the sold-out 82,000-capacity Accor Stadium in Sydney.
“There was a real deflation of the players,” said Schmidt of how his squad have reacted to losing the series.
“My belief is that 18 months ago, no one gave us a chance of challenging the Lions. I think in total it’s three tries apiece and four [five] tries to three and not nearly as much between the teams as maybe people might have expected.
“It’s an incredibly deflated group. Tuesday was tough actually to get them up off the canvas and today there was a little bit of an upswing. We’ve just got to keep that momentum.”
“Hopefully, they can be sharp at the captain’s run tomorrow and then springboard their way into the Test match.
“It’s a challenge because all that emotional and psychological energy that was expended, the way things finished, the sense of frustration. It’s almost like a grieving process by the time they’ve gone through those first few days, giving them time to breathe a bit and then try to elevate the spirits and the tempo.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say