CHUMP OF THE WEEK: Luke Morgan took a cheap shot and a Springbok pays the price

The Ospreys winger dived on Ethan Hooker after a perfectly legal try, dislocated the Springbok’s shoulder and walked away without sanction.

The Sharks lost 21-17 to the Ospreys in Bridgend on Saturday in a result that all but ended their URC playoff hopes. The defeat hurt. What happened just before half-time hurt considerably more.

Ospreys winger Luke Morgan dived deliberately onto Ethan Hooker after the Springbok had already grounded the ball to score a stunning 70-metre try. Hooker did not return after the break, having suffered a dislocated shoulder that could sideline him for up to four months.

Let’s be clear about what happened. Hooker collected Vincent Tshituka’s offload, swivelled out of a tackle and outpaced the Ospreys cover defence. He touched the ball down cleanly. The try was scored. It was over.

Then Morgan launched himself on top of Hooker anyway. There was no ball to contest. There was no reason to make contact. Rugby’s laws on this point are not ambiguous, players may not make contact with a try-scorer after the ball has been grounded. Morgan broke the law deliberately and in plain sight.

The TMO reviewed the score at length. The officials checked carefully for a potential knock-on in the build-up. Morgan’s action was never discussed. No card was shown. No penalty was awarded. Hooker left the field shortly after and never came back.

THE DAMAGE MORGAN LEFT AND HOW THE OFFICIALS MADE IT WORSE

Sharks coach JP Pietersen did not hide his anger after the match. 

“After scoring a try, the rules say you are not supposed to dive on a player,” he said. “Rules are there to protect players and sadly that did not happen. He dislocated his shoulder. He is a massive presence for us.”

Hooker now joins Eben Etzebeth, Bongi Mbonambi, Aphelele Fassi, Grant Williams and Jordan Hendrikse on the Sharks’ injury list. A shoulder dislocation of this nature typically requires 12 to 16 weeks of rehabilitation. South Africa open their international season against the Barbarians on 20 June. The Nations Championship begins against England on 4 July.

Morgan’s moment of madness was bad enough on its own. The officials then compounded it by doing absolutely nothing. They had the tools, the replays and the laws to act. They chose not to.

Rugby takes player safety seriously, or at least claims to. Citing initiatives and protocols means very little when a winger can dive deliberately onto a grounded try-scorer, dislocate his shoulder and receive no punishment whatsoever.

Morgan is this week’s chump, without question. But the match officials who watched the incident, reviewed the try and still said nothing deserve a special mention. Between them, they handed the Sharks, the Springboks and the watching rugby public a thoroughly avoidable injustice.