‘Now he knows how Brian O’Driscoll felt’ – Shades of Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu in horrific clearout
Shades of 2005 as two Auckland players recreated the infamous clear out on Brian O'Driscoll.
An incident during the NPC clash between Hawke’s Bay and Auckland was quickly likened to the infamous 2005 British and Irish Lions episode involving Tana Umaga, Keven Mealamu and Brian O’Driscoll.
O’Driscoll’s tour was cruelly cut short in 2005 after he was the victim of a spear tackle 41 seconds into the first Test against the All Blacks.
The Irish centre was dumped in a ruck by Umaga and Mealamu, resulting in a shoulder injury that required surgery and ended his involvement in the Test series.
The All Blacks duo escaped punishment both on the field and were not cited for their actions either.
Saturday’s NPC action produced a rather similar incident but, unlike 2005, both perpetrators were sent to the sin bin.
Double yellow card for Auckland
The incident occurred in the second half of the clash when Hawke’s Bay flanker Sam Smith attempted to win a turnover at the breakdown.
The back-rower was denied the turnover as Auckland prop Sika Uamaki-Pole and full-back Zarn Sullivan re-enacted the Umaga and Mealamu clearout, lifting the flanker above the horizontal and dumping him onto the ground.
On this occasion, the match officials spotted the incident and issued yellow cards to both players.
One of the worst clean outs you’ll ever see pic.twitter.com/daQopgqtcN
— Jamie Wall (@JamieWall2) September 28, 2024
Journalist Jamie Wall posted a clip of the incident on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, dubbing it, ‘one of the worst clean outs you’ll ever see’ and onlookers were quick to liken it to the O’Driscoll incident.
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“Now he knows how Brian O’Driscoll felt,” one reply read.
Another added that it “looks very 2005” while one comment said: “They must have been watching Umaga and Mealamu do that on O’Driscoll back in 05 in first Lions Test”.
At the time of the incident, Auckland held a 15-10 lead over the hosts but the Bay quickly made the most of the numerical advantage scoring a try through Freedom Vahaakolo.
It would ultimately be a quick flourish from Hawke’s Bay that decided the match with Sam Wye and Ben O’Donnell dotting down in the final two minutes to secure an epic 36-35 victory after trailing 35-22 heading into the last 10 minutes.
READ MORE: BOD and I buried the hatchet – Umaga
