The Rugby World Cup is now in full swing (except of course for England) and whilst our punters in the Transfer Tavern prefer football, they’ve been watching the tournament with keen eyes.
There’s a lot of differences between rugby and football, obviously, but sometimes there’s a lot of comparisons that can be made from the sport- particularly when crunching tackles are made in the Premier League.
Plenty of footballers through the years have pulled off a ‘tackle’ that wouldn’t look out of place on a rugby field, which are usually followed by a stern slap on the wrist by the footballing authorities.
Whether the culprits would get away with these tackles at Twickenham is up for debate but they wouldn’t provide such a flinching response from the fans, who celebrate violence in the fashion that football fans don’t. We’re still convinced Diego Costa is in the wrong sport.
So, here’s five pieces of evidence to support our views as these five tackles would fit in perfectly on a rugby field. Have we missed one? Let us know in the comments below!
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Click below to see FIVE football tackles that are more suitable to the rugby field
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Ian Wright February 1997
I bet Ian Wright isn’t the first name you expected to see on this list but his tackle on Peter Schmiechel in February 1997 was almost the perfect tackle for a rugby game.
After being flagged offside, the Arsenal striker continued to play and flew into the Manchester United stopper with a distinct lack of control. Amazingly, he got away without punishment as the referee had turned away after signalling the previous infringement.
It’s not a leg break but flying into the opponent like that is usually what you see to prevent a try!
Karl Henry October 2010
Karl Henry’s hefty challenge on Jordi Gomez back in 2010 was a perfect example of excessive force going into a challenge. The Wolves defender sent the Wigan man hurtling through the air, with the impact definitely more suitable to a rugby field.
Gomez landing on his face capped it all off. If you photoshopped Henry sliding along the floor and replaced it with a diving rugby challenge, then you’d be forgiven for thinking the image was genuine!
Ben Thatcher August 2006
Before Manchester City’s millions they weren’t very good, at all, and their players were guilty of some horrible incidents. None optimises this more than Ben Thatcher, a player who earned a reputation as a thug on the field.
His forearm smash against Pedro Mendes would, understandably, be punished in rugby but such an incident makes more sense in such a fierce and aggressive contact sport. Remarkably, Thatcher was somehow not punished by the referee on the day.
Stephen Hunt October 2006
A challenge that’s largely forgotten but was the factor behind Petr Cech’s rugby-style skull helmet. In the first minute of a meeting between Chelsea and Reading in 2006, the Czech Republic stopper dived to the feet of Stephen Hunt and suffered a depressed skull fracture as a result.
Chelsea doctors recognised the severity of the injury and he was rushed to hospital, where he went emergency brain surgery. It wasn’t a malicious incident from Hunt but it was such a horrific injury to occur on the football field and you’d expect it more from a rugby clash.
Incidentally, this game also saw reserve goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini also forced off with a head injury- leading John Terry to finish the game between the sticks.
Dirk Kuyt October 2007
A bizarre incident in the Merseyside derby, where no contact was made by Dutchman Dirk Kuyt, occurred in October 2007. Kuyt flew through the air in an attempt to get the ball from Phil Neville and if you flipped Kuyt’s body it would be the perfect attempted challenge on a rugby field.
He went unpunished, which was fortunate, but a challenge like that does not belong anyway near a football field!
