Ireland coach Ged Corcoran said he was shocked Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was not sent off for a “dog shot” in New Zealand’s 48-10 win at the Rugby League World Cup.
Waerea-Hargreaves was sin binned in the first half of New Zealand’s victory after he caught Ireland’s Dan Norman high with a swinging arm in a tackle.
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Coming off a three-game suspension, the Kiwis prop faces another nervous wait to see if he’ll be free to play in the World Cup finals.
A fuming Corcoran believes Waerea-Hargreaves old got off lightly for his reckless shot on the debutant.
“I’ve got to be careful with what I say but really disappointed with that dog shot (from) Hargreaves,” he said.
“I’ve lost two boys this week, two influential players for us on a misdemeanor charge which we challenged and were unsuccessful.
“For me that’s a game changer… it’s just a hard one to swallow.
“100 per cent (should have been sent off). It was a clear shoulder to the head, it’s ended his night, it’s ended his debut.
“The kid’s dreamt of this since he was a child so to end your debut like that there’s nothing worse is there?”
New Zealand coach Michael Maguire was coy when asked about the tackle.
“I spoke to (Waerea-Hargreaves) at half time. We just need to go through the process and see where that’s it,” he said.
Asked if he was concerned, Maguire said: “Not really, I had a look at it but I had a wide view so we we’ve just got to go through the process.”
Members of the commentary team were shocked Warea-Hargreaves was only sent for ten minutes and thought the contact deserved a heavier sanction.
“That’s a bad one,” one said.
“That’s bad contact, there’s no excuse for that. He should see red, that’s a shocker from Hargreaves.”
Hargreaves returned to the field in the second half but didn’t last long before coming off with what was believed to be a hamstring strain.
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