New Zealand No 8 Ardie Savea has apologised after he was accused of "threatening to kill" an opponent after making a controversial throat-slitting gesture in the Melbourne Storm v Hurricanes Super Rugby clash.
It was the Hurricanes who came away with a thrilling 39-33 win down under, but their win was overshadowed by an ugly melee which culminated in Savea's threat to home scrum half Ryan Louwrens. The 29-year-old had already been yellow carded for his role in the saga that followed a collapsed maul by the Hurricanes.
In the aftermath, Rebels second row Josh Canham and away hooker Dane Coles clashed, and were grappling on the floor as teammates rushed in. Savea, capped 68 times by the All Blacks, then escalated matters by throwing Melbourne outside half Carter Gordon to the ground.
