Rugby’s biggest thug could be on verge of life ban after video of all his cards
Argentina lock Tomas Lavanini had one goal this Rugby Championship and one goal only, and that was to become Test rugby’s most carded player, and after years of dedication and a commitment towards late tackles, high tackles and no-arm tackles he achieved that dream.
The moment he had worked his entire life towards came in the Pumas’ second Test against the All Blacks, as referee Nic Berry waved the yellow for what was ironically the professional foul of not retreating ten metres rather than his typical preference for a wanton act of despicable violence.
That yellow took his Test tally to seven (two behind leader Michael Hooper), and when combined with his three red cards, he is now the most carded player in the international game. And to be honest, it could not happen to a bigger thug.
Andrew Forde recently shared a video of every card of the 29-year-old’s career, and it is basically a compendium of almost every piece of violent foul play any player could be penalised for. Take a look:
Lavanini started on Saturday as Argentina finished their Rugby Championship with a loss against South Africa. Head coach Michael Cheika told ESPNScrum after the match: “I think the score is not a reflection of the match.
“The lesson we take from this game is that it is very important to make good decisions at important moments.”
Cheika also reflected on the entire Championship, where the Pumas recorded their first ever win over the All Blacks on New Zealand soil. “There were two (other) games that we could have won, against Australia (also at home) and last week (at home against South Africa),” he said.
“I’m not happy with the results, but as a team we are improving.
“It’s difficult to say this because I don’t want to give the impression that we are only going to compete and nothing else. We need to win, we played well and we were able to do it.
“In general we have increased the level of our game, but it’s time to believe that we can win more often against the best teams in the world. It’s very important to take these learnings into November (the autumn internationals).”