Ex-Wallaby perplexed after Waratahs lock cleared of punch in victory over Western Force
Waratahs lock Fergus Lee-Warner and former Wallabies centre Morgan Turinui.
Former Wallabies outside back Morgan Turinui has admitted that he is “surprised” that Waratahs lock Fergus Lee-Warner has escaped punishment after an alleged act of foul play recently.
The tightly contested clash between the Australian rivals was characterised by several off-the-ball incidents and in the 37th minute the Force took a 15-14 lead when Hamish Stewart scored a try.
Stewart responded by throwing the ball at Lee-Warner
However, Lee-Warner clipped Stewart’s legs while he was crossing the whitewash and the inside centre responded by throwing the ball at his opponent.
A free-for-all ensued with players from both sides rushing in and Lee-Warner took a swing at the home side’s hooker Nic Dolly.
Referee Angus Gardner eventually defused the situation and although the try stood, he punished Stewart – for starting the fight – by awarding a penalty to the Waratahs after Ben Donaldson had converted the try.
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The sides were level at 17-17 at full-time and went into extra-time with Darby Lancaster securing 22-17 victory for the visitors with a super point try in the 90th minute.
The fight between the teams was a big talking point after the match but there were no citings from Round 15 of Super Rugby Pacific and Lee-Warner has been included in the Waratahs’ starting line-up for their must-win match with the Blues at Eden Park on Saturday.
And a Super Rugby spokesman said a review of all available angles of the fight showed that Lee-Warner did not throw a punch but Turinui feels Lee-Warner is lucky not to be cited.
“I reckon Lee-Warner throws one here,” he said on Stan Sport’s Between Two Posts show.
‘He just goes ‘ready, bang’ and connects’
“There’s another angle to it – he goes ‘whack’ there with that right hand. There is the other angle where he just goes ‘ready, bang’ and connects, right, and Dolly goes to the deck on it… no citings from the round.
“I can understand why the on-field trio of referees didn’t pick it up (Gardner, Matt Kellahan and Graham Cooper).
“I’m surprised Brett Cronan didn’t pick it up, the TMO, and I’m doubly surprised that the judiciary didn’t want to have a sneaky look at it. We don’t see punches in Super Rugby, in the modern game, in professional rugby anymore.”