The violent start to State of Origin that has left all of rugby union in shock
Almost the entire world of rugby union seems to be in a state of shock today after witnessing the opening few minutes of the State of Origin on Wednesday, let alone watching the entire match.
In what is usually the most brutal fixture in either code, the opening match of the series between New South Wales and Queensland lived up to its reputation.
With just a matter of seconds on the clock at the Adelaide Oval, referee Ashley Klein was already intervening and awarding a penalty after NSW’s Tyson Frizell (brother of All Black Shannon) took Queensland fullback Reece Walsh out in the air. That was bad, but what happened after was far, far worse and resulted in nothing. Winger Josh Addo-Carr charged in and dropped his shoulder onto the shoulder/head of Walsh while he was lying there defenceless.
If anyone wants to see the difference between officiating in rugby league and rugby union, these few minutes are a pretty good indication. If Addo-Carr did that in union, he would be extremely lucky not to see a red card, but this did not even result in a penalty.
To top things off, a mass brawl kicked off from there, although no player appeared to throw any punches.
Take a look at the video:
LESS THAN 3 minutes into the game 🤯 #StateOfOrigin #NRL #SkySportNZ pic.twitter.com/3LRQiLJpPS
— Sky Sport NZ (@skysportnz) May 31, 2023
