Ma'a sees red

It wasn't a stellar night for Ma'a Nonu last night at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin. He'd been on the field a mere 13 seconds when he had a kick charged down, and the Crusaders almost scored. Perhaps he should have taken that as a sign.

Just a few minutes later, his night was over; red-carded by referee Steve Walsh:

The IRB leaves referees no latitude on tip-tackles; lift a player's legs above the horizontal and drop or drive him into the turf, and the referee has no alternative but to show a red card. And that is exactly what happened to Nonu last night. At full speed it looked bad, and on replay even worse; he was gone. As the Mastercard advert says, it was "Nonu. Nonu, Nonu; boom!"

Ma'a Nonu is an enigma. He has had an abysmal Super 15 this season (which has probably ended now, mercifully so), but the moment he pulled on the All Black jersey, he was transformed. It really is inexplicable.

There was also some rugby played last night of course, and a last-gasp, length-of-the-field try by Telusa Veainu gave the Crusaders a four-try bonus point.The Crusaders are running into form when it matters, and with Richie McCaw back in training, will be a force at the business end of the competition.


UPDATE: Ma'a Nonu is indeed in some strife, with a date with the judiciary over TWO incidents in a forgettable night last night.