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Hurricanes captain Ardie Savea clashes with Melbourne Rebels first-five Carter Gordon.
All Blacks star Ardie Savea produced a throat-slitting gesture towards an opponent following a heated exchange during the Hurricanes’ Super Rugby Pacific clash against the Melbourne Rebels.
Savea scored two tries and set up another for Josh Moorby to give the Hurricanes a comfortable 24-7 lead at halftime, after conceding the opening try.
But the skipper’s sensational first-half performance was soured by an ugly incident right before halftime, which saw him shown a yellow card.
After being singled out by referee James Doleman following an altercation involving players from both teams, Savea produced a throat-slitting gesture towards Rebels halfback Ryan Louwrens as he made his way to the sin bin.
Savea was shown a yellow card for “escalating” the situation, according to the referee after Dane Coles and lock Josh Canham wrestled on the ground.
Players from both teams crowded the scene, and Savea took it upon himself to remove Rebels first-five Carter Gordon before throwing him to the ground.
Savea defended his actions, telling the referee he was just trying to pull Gordon out. But the referee felt his reaction was excessive.
Speaking on the Sky Sport broadcast, former All Black Mils Muliaina said it was “out of character” from Savea to react in such an angry manner.
“It’s out of character really for Ardie to do that,” he said. “He’s been instrumental in this game, his powerful play but also setting that try up with his ball play.
“He’s inspirational as well but that nine minutes [in the bin] is probably going to help the Rebels.”
Savea was greeted with boos when he returned to the field early in the second half.
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