Former Wallabies international Morgan Turinui says Ardie Savea’s throat-slitting gesture was “on the edge” but its acceptability is clouded by ambiguous standards.
Savea drew the ire of commentators and match officials when he made the gesture in the Hurricanes’ win over the Rebels in round two of Super Rugby Pacific.
The Hurricanes captain was embroiled in a goal-line scuffle with the Super Round hosts, which led to the brain explosion.
Watch the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season on the home of rugby, Stan Sport. All matches streaming ad free, live and on demand
Savea was quick to apologise for the move post-match, labelling it a “heat of the moment kind of thing”.
Savea apologises for throat slitting gesture
Although not impressed by Savea’s actions at the time, Turinui changed his tune upon reflection.
“I thought it was really poor from Ardie at the time,” said Turinui on the latest Between Two Posts episode.
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“I do think that it is on the edge of lots of things we see in the game. It’s a combat sport, it’s not even a contact sport, it’s a combat sport – rugby.
“You need to physically dominate your opposition to win games.
“There’s that line of pseudo-violence and brutality, and these are words that teams use. The Wallabies use the word brutality as a way that they prepare for the game.
“But what I loved was, he got to the end of the game, Drew Mitchell interviews him, he puts his hand up, he said ‘I’m better than that’.
“You know what? I’m going to judge him on his 15 years of positive involvements in the game being an absolute superstar and a great leader and human being.
“One little off-the-cuff moment in the heat of battle, I think a yellow card is probably right. Let’s move on and enjoy the rugby. I wouldn’t be sanctioning him any further.”
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All Blacks legend Andrew Mehrtens echoed Turinui’s sentiment and argued that he shouldn’t be sanctioned.
However, he was concerned the sheer volume of interest in the incident could end badly for Savea amid a need to set a standard.
“I think he was sincere,” said Mehrtens.
“He says it how it is. Like you say, it must be pretty hard for someone in that position to just switch it off like that.
“We expect them to go out and be warriors and to physically engage and apply themselves. From someone who never did that, it must be tough for others to switch it off.
“The problem he’s going to have, Ardie Savea, is there’s so much profile around this,” he added.
“If they want to set a precedent they’re probably going to fall on the side of being severe rather than lenient.”
A severe punishment could have him out for anywhere between four to eight weeks, if not more depending on the view of the commission.
The throat-slitting gesture isn’t an entirely new issue in rugby.
The All Blacks often performed the Kapa O Pango with a gesture some interpreted as throat slitting, although there was some conjecture that it had a different meaning in Māori culture.
Ultimately, the gesture was removed and has made rare appearances since.
NEW PODCAST! Sean Maloney, Morgan Turinui and Andrew Mehrtens unpack round two of Super Rugby Pacific and all the controversy of Super Round!
Turinui said the Savea issue is a complex one due to the element of ambiguity.
“We talk about this line sometimes in Australia around sledging and the cricket teams have been through it,” said Turinui.
“It’s an interesting one when you try to be a little bit holier than thou and hold players to some sort of arbitrary standard and expect that they know the line.
“I suppose we’re going to find out when the sighting commission sanction, if any, comes down.”
Savea will face a judicial committee hearing on Tuesday at 6pm.
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