Leicester great issues a three-word message to TV pundits claiming a Sale penalty for Freddie Steward’s game-ending ‘ugly tackle’
Freddie Steward celebrates after Leicester beat Sale in the Premiership semi-final
Leicester legend Neil Back has defended Freddie Steward following claims on TNT Sports that referee Matthew Carley should have awarded Sale a game-continuing penalty following a head-on-head collision with Luke Cowan-Dickie.
Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership semi-final at Welford Road was halted with the clock on 83:10 to allow the official to review the incident where the Leicester full-back clattered into the ball-carrying Sale hooker, a collision that resulted in the Sharks player knocking on.
Rather than award the Manchester club a penalty that would have offered them a lifeline with the match in additional time, Carley concluded after review with his TMO that “no foul play” had occurred. His final whistle then confirmed Leicester’s progress to next Saturday’s final versus Bath with a 21-16 victory.
This was a decision that retired internationals Danny Care and Sam Warburton didn’t agree with. Working as pundits for TNT Sports, they believed a penalty should have instead been awarded to Sale, allowing the closely fought semi-final to continue.
“We all think it is a penalty…”
Ex-England scrum-half Care began: “We all think it is a penalty, don’t we? We’re in agreement there. It’s a really tough one because it’s not malicious but unfortunately, the facts are Freddie Steward has tackled Luke Cowan-Dickie’s head with his own head. Unfortunately, that has led to the knock-on.”
Warburton, the former Wales and British and Irish Lions captain, replied: “I agree. It’s an ugly tackle. It’s not a good tackle. It’s not malicious but it’s ugly. The only thing I would say is if you were like a coach and you’re U12s level, you do tackle practice and you see that one-on-one, do you watch that tackle unfold and go, ‘Well done, next rep’?
“No, you say, ‘Right, you got that badly wrong – you have got that wrong!’ Freddie Steward has got that wrong. Like I said, it’s not malicious at all but it’s an ugly tackle. I don’t see much of a wrap in there.”
Warburton added that there would be no argument that it was a penalty if the incident took place in the early part of the match.
“I’d be inclined to say yes (a penalty would be given earlier in the game),” he said. “The ramifications (late on) would be enormous. I would say watching this in cold light of day, no emotion, we are not a team of referees, haven’t got crowd or voices in our ears, watching that now that looks like a penalty to me.”
“You’re right, Sam, if that’s 10 minutes, 20 minutes in, I’m pretty sure that might be a penalty,” reckoned Care, who also suggested: “Sale were getting back into the game, they were on the front foot. You thought the momentum was building. Luke Cowan-Dickie has done everything right there, he has stayed in, he has stayed infield. We are saying to every player to create better habits, to go with shoulders, dip height, to not go head-on-head.
“Unfortunately, we have said there has to be consequences if lads get it wrong. I personally think there, Freddie has got that one wrong. He has gone head-on-head.”
This post-game assessment from Care and Warburton generated plenty of reaction on social media, with Back, the 2003 Rugby World Cup winner with England, among those who chipped into the online debate. “Not a penalty,” he claimed, an opinion he was rebuked for. One fan, Mark Hunter, accused the retired back-rower of being “blinkered” while another, Matthew Wood, suggested, “Take your goggles off.”
Not a penalty .
— Neil Back MBE (@NeilBack) June 7, 2025
There were plenty more opinions posted by fans about the Steward incident. Here is a cross-section of what was said:
@GregChew14: “Guys, his right arm is up in the frame before the hit. He is making an attempt to wrap, but you should know better what the real problem is: Steward’s head is in front rather than behind the tackler. That’s the ugly, bad technique bit.”
@AlexBPsych: “To those complaining, what else is Steward supposed to do in that scenario?”
Spencer Murphy: “I totally disagree, if anything FS is very low when coming in for the tackle. His left arm you can see starts to come up and then LCD drops his height into FS, forcing his arms down. If I’m right, you cannot drop your height into a defender.”
Mike Cooper: “The good news is you will find out if you’re right if the citing commissioner picks it up. Because the argument is ‘no wrap’ and it is head contact, it’s no wrap – always illegal. No mitigation available – red card. It’s either that or a rugby incident.”
Rob Watts: “It’s mechanically impossible to fully wrap when your head is below your knees on your feel. You’d need to have the flexibility of a gymnast. The key was, ‘Is the arm up’? It was, which was an attempted wrap. If the arm was tucked, different story.”
@jimmc83: “Where exactly should Freddie put his head? He goes low, LCD significantly drops his height. He must bear some responsibility for his and Steward’s safety also. Steward can’t realistically go lower. Hands start to go forward until he’s smashed on the back of the head.”
@tigersreds19: “I cannot believe it’s a discussion. If LCD doesn’t duck his head, then Steward completes a ‘normal’ tackle. This is ALL LCD’s fault. Steward doesn’t tuck the arm; he’s bent at the waist. It’s absurd that some think it’s a penalty, let alone anything more.”
@macka813: “Looks like a rugby incident as Steward could not bend any lower and Luke CD also puts his head too low. Not malicious. No intent other than to make a tackle. Think ref got it right.”
Sam Harrison: “In all seriousness, what is Steward meant to do in this situation? LCD’s head is near enough by his ankles after dipping late into the tackle, leaving nowhere for FS to make a hit. If LCD doesn’t dip FS makes a fair tackle on his legs. The dip needs to be banned.”
Ton Finn-Kelcey: “Suspect producers on TNT instruct these guys to try and stoke controversy after games… Guess it’s because doing this boosts social media interactions as with football. I’d love it if they focused on analysing the rugby.”
@DougProp: “Steward tries to go low, LCD ducks into the tackle – rugby incident. In the community game in England, LCD is penalised for going late and low.”
