AS AN athlete you are trained to be instinctive, get caught in the moment, and do what comes naturally. However, this seems to have been what has cost Ben Tameifuna.
The five weeks the giant Waikato prop will spend on the sideline for pushing referee Glen Jackson out of theway while defending on his goal line - seems a bit over the top to me.
Naturally may not be the right term, because from an early age movement patterns - and sporting tactics - are created and then reinforced with repetitive training. Sort of in a robotic way I suppose.
Watching the footage certainly does not help Tameifuna, but putting the situation in context and knowing what is likely to have been going through his mind does.
The incident, reported to be acting contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship, happened in the 72nd minute of Waikato and North Harbour's match when Tameifuna was defending the try line - the game in the balance at 22-16.
Getting caught up in the moment is something that is encouraged in sport, forget everything else in life or the match and just address what is happening in that moment in front of you.
For Tameifuna that will have been, "defend, defend, defend". If that was his focus, and something got in his way, I guarantee you would not think twice about moving whatever you felt was a possible distraction to you. Which in this case was the referee.
The judicial panel noted Jackson had not taken issue with the incident, with Jackson saying he did not believe the push to be maliciously intended. With that said, why five weeks?
Yes, protecting referees is important. Yes, there should be no place for referee abuse - verbal or physical. Yes, Tameifuna probably should have paid more attention.
But, in the 72nd minute of a match you can surely understand how a momentary lapse in concentration could happen.
To me, it feels as though political correctness has gone too far, next time a ref gets bowled over at a ruck will the offending players be banned too?
If so, expect judicial panels around New Zealand to get busy soon.
