Leinster prop’s grievous red card spree goes unnoticed
Almost every spectator of the Heineken Champions Cup semi-final clash between Leinster and Toulouse on Saturday was left wondering how on Earth Andrew Porter was still on the field at half time.
The visitors Toulouse scored near the half time break at the Aviva Stadium through lock Emmanuel Meafou, but just a few seconds before Porter was caught lifting the legs of winger Juan Cruz Mallía and dumping him on his back.
It was a questionable tackle for a number of reasons, but for some reason the TMO did not intervene.
Meafou was going over for a try just a few seconds later, and Porter was in the spotlight once again as his attempt to dislodge the ball from the lock’s hands resulted in a punch to his face. This was just an accident though, but the tackle was much more sinister. It may not necessarily have been a red card offence, but to go unnoticed completely is bizarre.
Take a look at the tackle:
Toulouse needed that!
quick play, quick finish 💯#HeinekenChampionsCup | #ITVRugby pic.twitter.com/mytqFiNBQU
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) April 29, 2023
Leinster coach Leo Cullen spoke about Toulouse’s “physical pack” ahead of the match, and that certainly includes the 145kg Meafou.
“(They have) a big physical pack,” Cullen told www.epcrugby.com.
“I think they will be very direct when they have the ball, confrontational.
“They kick the ball a fair amount. I know Toulouse’s reputation is free-flowing, off-loading rugby, but I think they will be pretty pragmatic, particularly at the start of the game.
“As the game starts to open up then they will start to move the ball around and you see a lot of their points come late in games.
“I think they will try to take us on physically, which is good because that is what we want as well, a good physical challenge for our guys.
“You want to test yourself against the best teams out there. It’s a great challenge. They have great quality.
“You can’t switch off for a second with some of the players that they have – game-changing players.”
