New Zealand's second Test against Ireland was marred by a "sickening" red card incident which saw a direct clash of heads.
All Blacks prop Angus Ta'avao was sent off for going into an attempted tackle too upright and colliding heads with Ireland centre Garry Ringrose, catching him directly in the face.
The collision saw both players floored and was met with gasps from the crowd in Dunedin as referee Jaco Peyper almost immediately halted play for around two minutes while medics tended to the duo, allowing the official to converse with TMO Tom Foley about what had happened.
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Explaining his decision, Peyper told New Zealand captain Sam Cane the body height was too high, with the Kiwi challenging the outcome.
Peyper said: "He [Ta'avao] steps right into him, no level change, there's no mitigation. At the moment there's a higher level of responsibility on the tackler to level change.
"That was direct into him. There was no change of direction. Unfortunately I'm going to have to give him a red card."
Ta’avao exited the field with blood running down his face, with New Zealand reduced to 13 men at that time having also had a player yellow carded.
Rugby legend Sean Fitzpatrick told Sky Sports, who were broadcasting the match: "This is pretty sickening in terms of the tackle. Definitely not intentional but totally a red card."
Ireland were leading 10-0 at the time of the 30th-minute incident, and it marked the third card for the hosts following yellows for Leicester Fainga'anuku and Ofa Tu'ungafasi.
There was soon to be some confusion, with New Zealand soon returning to 15 players on the field despite their red card.
There were uncontested scrums when Ta’avao and Tu'ungafasi were on the sidelines and debutant prop Aidan Ross briefly entered the match, with Ardie Savea making way for him to ensure there were two props on the field. But he tried to come back on before going off again.
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