Former All Blacks five-eighth Lima Sopoaga has labelled Darcy Swain “an absolute coward” in an extraordinary Twitter attack on the banned Wallabies lock.
Sopoaga played 18 Tests for New Zealand between 2015-17 and now plies his club trade in France with Lyon.
The 31-year-old took aim at Swain in the wake of Thursday’s news that All Blacks midfielder Quinn Tupaea would be sidelined for nine months due to extensive damage to the ACL in his left knee.
Watch every match of Australia A’s tour of Japan on the home of rugby, Stan Sport. All matches streaming ad-free, live and on demand
Tupaea suffered the injury in the explosive Bledisloe Cup Test in Melbourne, as Swain wrenched his knee in an ugly and illegal cleanout.
Swain was yellow carded by French referee Mathieu Raynal for the incident and was later suspended for six weeks by SANZAAR’s judiciary panel.
“Swain is an absolute coward for this,” Sopoaga wrote.
READ MORE: Panthers star sledges Eels ahead of decider
READ MORE: ‘Devastating’ illness ruined star’s Olympic dream
READ MORE: Magpies star makes decisive contract call
“Was no need for such a cheap shot. 9 months for 6 weeks seems fair, Joke of a suspension.”
Swain, 25, has had a rocky year after also being red carded for headbutting England antagonist Jonny Hill, who had pulled his hair in a scuffle.
The All Blacks were furious with Swain’s actions at Marvel Stadium and Beauden Barrett summed up their feelings.
Wallabies lock sent off for headbutt
“He basically didn’t see it coming,” Barrett said of Tupaea.
“He was a sitting duck… it was a bit of a free shot.
“I feel for him because he’s going to be out of the game for a long time and I’m not too sure what’s happening in their camp with Darcy Swain. We don’t like to see these sorts of injuries.”
Sean Maloney and Morgan Turinui are joined by Nathan Grey to dissect the final round of the Rugby Championship and reminisce on some stories from their playing days
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here
‘I got the yips that night’: Rugby legends trade hilarious yarns on Stan Sport’s Glory Days series
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
