The O'Driscoll Tackle and the Rule Against Retrospective Penalties

Brian O'Driscoll was carried from the Christchurch field on a stretcher in the opening minute of the first Test against New Zealand. Keven Mealamu and Tana Umaga were involved in the heavy tackle. O'Driscoll had a dislocated shoulder. His participation ended there.

O'Driscoll described the hit in blunt terms. He said he had been “turned upside down, in the air and speared into the ground,” and called it a “cheap shot.” He said he believed it was deliberate foul play. The Lions alleged that Umaga and Mealamu had double spear-tackled him. It was an allegation, not a disciplinary finding, but the injury gave it a hard human center.

The Lions said they complained to citing commissioner Willem Venter. The complaint put the tackle before the official review process after the referee had not acted on it during the match. Venter decided that no action would be taken against Umaga or Mealamu. The first door closed with O'Driscoll still out of the Test and the allegation still attached to the two All Blacks.

Then, on 25 October, BBC reporting said amateur footage clearly showed O'Driscoll being picked up and dumped to the ground during the opening seconds. The video supplied a new view of the old collision, not a new disciplinary route. Greg Thomas, the International Rugby Board's communications manager, said there were “no retrospective penalties in the game's regulations.” The footage could clarify what had happened; it could not produce a sanction after the fact.

The citing commissioner took no action against Umaga or Mealamu. Later, Greg Thomas said the game's regulations contained no retrospective penalties. O'Driscoll's dislocated shoulder had already ended his participation in the Test.