Fans disgust as Quins target and injure Munster star Ben Healy in shocking Challenge Cup scenes
Irish rugby fans are not happy at all today as footage has emerged showing Harlequins players deliberately targeting Munster 10 Ben Healy in the Challenge Cup.
Images have emerged showing players Joe Marler and Alex Dombrandt putting in deliberate and calculated hits on the much-talked-about Irish 10 who has emerged through the Irish academy.
It looks like the London-based side were instructed to intentionally go after the 21-year-old fly in their pre-match tactics.
The hits were so bad on the player that he will miss the team’s next few weeks of rugby.
Munster out-half Ben Healy has been ruled out of Saturday’s Champions Cup game in Clermont due to the shoulder in jury he picked up against Harlequins.
— Cian Tracey (@CianTracey1) December 15, 2020
Disgraceful that two players suffer no more than a yellow between them for two intentionally late hits, and Ben Healy will now miss a massive game (or games) for Munster. But even worse that Dombrandt and, to a greater extent, Marler conceived of doing that to a young fellow pro.
— Gavan Casey (@GavanCasey) December 15, 2020
Harlequins have one of the worst track record among club sides for falling on the wrong side of the law.
Last season the club was given 16 yellow cards, one of the highest dished out among any team in Europe. Could this be because the players can’t be controlled, or because the coach instructs them to play this way.
Below Murray Kinsella, a rugby journalist, documented the hits and how poor they were.
The first hit on Healy
This was the first late hit on Healy.
Alex Dombrandt was yellow carded for this.
Pascal Gaüzère: “It’s not a tackle, you never use your arm, you charge with the shoulder.” pic.twitter.com/AyEGvoK6Ag
— Murray Kinsella (@Murray_Kinsella) December 15, 2020
The second hit
Another angle on the Dombrandt hit: pic.twitter.com/zbUnBhCTKs
— Murray Kinsella (@Murray_Kinsella) December 15, 2020
Marler hit on Healy
This was the second late hit on Healy.
Joe Marler was penalised for this.
Gaüzère: “It’s not a tackle. If you want to make a tackle, make sure you use arms, not leading with the shoulder.” pic.twitter.com/6DYtIa5tkM
— Murray Kinsella (@Murray_Kinsella) December 15, 2020
This is undoubtedly not a good look for Harlequins rugby, and we are sure that some kind of investigation will need to take place. There is targeting a player in a game, and proactively going out of your way to hurt someone.