New Zealand winger Leicester Fainga'anuku was fortunate to play more than 17 minutes during Saturday's historic defeat to Ireland in Dunedin.
Or at least that's likely to be the view of many Irish supporters following the speedster's shoulder-first clean-out of Mack Hansen. It was only 17 minutes into Ireland's tense 23-12 victory—their maiden win over the All Blacks in New Zealand—that Fainga'anuku was sent to the bin for a reckless challenge.
Connacht talisman Hansen received the ball on the right wing in acres of space but opted to kick into the space that emerged behind the onrushing Fainga'anuku. The Crusaders star leapt as he attempted to swat down Hansen's nudge, but it was his landing that drew the ire of the Irish faithful.
Unable to properly control his frame as he sailed through the air, the 22-year-old—who made his debut in the series-opener against Ireland last Saturday—struggled to avoid Hansen. Worst of all, however, was the fact his shoulder made direct contact with Hansen's head, which tends to qualify as a red card-worthy offence in today's game.
Referee Jaco Peyper consulted with television match official Tom Foley, who was convinced there was contact to Hansen's chest before his head was touched. Taking that supposed mitigation into account, Fainga'anuku managed to get away with just 10 minutes on the sidelines.
Despite the indecision among officials, there appeared to be a fairly conclusive consensus in the court of social media. Sports scientist Ross Tucker suggested it was a red due to there being 'very high danger and no mitigation', while one Twitter user recommended a "ban from playing rugby."
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It was only eight minutes after the Fainga'anuku incident that Ofa Tu'ungafasi was sin-binned for tackling Garry Ringrose off the ball. Again, rugby fans criticised the officials en masse for not awarding Ireland a penalty try given Leinster star Ringrose almost definitely would have gone on to score.
New Zealand did eventually see red when Angus Ta'avao—who was only on to fill in for absent prop Tu'ungafasi—made head-to-head contact with Ringrose while attempting a tackle. Andy Farrell's side received a caution of their own at the end of the first half when lock James Ryan was pulled up for repeat infringements.
The visitors led just 10-7 at the interval despite New Zealand's three first-half cards, though two Andrew Porter tries ultimately saw them seal a historic win in Dunedin. Ireland will hope to build on that result when the series concludes in Wellington next Saturday.
