Could he have gone lower? Yes. Was it a high and dangerous tackle worthy of a red card? According to the TMO and referee who handled the match between the Springboks and Portugal in Bloemfontein on Saturday, the answer is yes.
Bok centre Andre Esterhuizens tackle on Portuguese midfielder Jose Lima in the first two minutes of the Test has become the biggest talking point and issue of the one-off, historic Test between the nations.
For the record, the Boks, with predominantly backup and young players in the matchday-23, won the match comfortably 64-21 . They scored 10 tries to Portugals three and had to play most of the match with 14 men after Esterhuizen was red carded for his early tackle.
Following what looked like a perfectly executed hit on Lima, which sadly left the Portuguese player concussed, and carried off, and out of the action, Esterhuizen was yellow carded by referee Hollie Davidson.
TMO callA few minutes later, with the TMO having viewed the footage, the yellow card was upgraded to a red, for a high and dangerous tackle, with head on head contact. But was this the right decision?
