The sidestep so good it left defenders tackling each other
Where’s the fun in running past two tacklers when you can actually make them tackle each other? That was obviously the thought process of Wellington No10 Aidan Morgan last Saturday.
The 21-year-old produced one of the sidesteps of the year against Southland in the NPC on the way to creating a try for fullback Connor Garden-Bachop.
Everything looked fairly normal when he received the ball with a lot of space in front of him. He began to work his way across the pitch, and the defence was drifting to track him. It looked as though he was going to straighten up and run between two tacklers, which caused the two defenders to effectively face each other to prepare for the tackle. But a sidestep meant that instead of running between the two, he was running around them, leaving the two tacklers to smash into each other as he glided past. As odd as that sounds, he made it look very simple.
Take a look at the step:
Aidan Morgan bamboozled those defenders with that step 🔥#BunningsNPC pic.twitter.com/yinBJblJx4
— RUGBYcomau (@rugbycomau) September 5, 2022
Southland XV
15 Robbie Robinson
14 Viliami Fine
13 Matt Whaanga
12 Scott Gregory
11 Rory van Vugt
10 Jack MacLeod
9 Jay Renton
1 Paula Latu
2 Sam Stewart
3 Morgan Mitchell
4 Caleb Aperahama
5 Josh Bekhuis
6 Grayson Knapp
7 Matt James
8 Blair Ryall
Substitutes
16 Jacob Payne
17 Kane Prentice
18 Quinn Harrison-Jones
19 Charles Alaimalo
20 Jacob Coghlan
21 Osika Kaufononga
22 William Tufui
23 Tevita Latu
Wellington XV
15 Connor Garden-Bachop
14 Julian Savea
13 Billy Proctor
12 Peter Umaga-Jensen
11 Nehe Milner-Skudder
10 Aidan Morgan
9 TJ Perenara
1 Xavier Numia
2 Asafo Aumua
3 Pekahou Cowan
4 Dominic Bird
5 Josh To’omaga
6 Caleb Delany
7 Sione Halalilo
8 Peter Lakai
Substitutes
16 James O’Reilly
17 Solomona Sakalia
18 Siale Lauaki
19 Hugo Plummer
20 Keelan Whitman
21 Richard Judd
22 Jackson Garden-Bachop
23 Ruben Love
