Former All-Black Tana Umaga has revealed that the infamous spear tackle that seriously injured former Ireland and British and Irish Lions captain Brian O’Driscoll was never intended to be as hard as it was.
On June 25th, 2005, Lions captain O’Driscoll was the victim of a spear tackle 41 seconds into the first Test against New Zealand at Jade Stadium in Christchurch.
O’Driscoll’s tour was ended due to a severe shoulder injury that required surgery. Umaga was not punished for the tackle. To make matters worse, the All Blacks won the series 3-0.
The first Test tackle became a hot topic for both players’ careers, but both have now moved on from the incident, having both retired.
Umaga spoke to Prime Casino this week and claimed that his intention was never to hurt O’Driscoll in 2005.
“Nothing has changed in my mind. There was no intent. Myself and Brian are good now,” he said.
Umaga also claimed that the backlash from people back home in Ireland was hard to take, but he doesn’t hold any ill will towards anyone in Ireland for it.
“The backlash was hard to take, though. Everyone accusing me of it being deliberate. These sorts of things happen in a game. The outcomes are not always the same. The injury was unfortunate.
“The backlash from the people in Ireland was pretty tough, and the biggest thing is, I loved touring Ireland and I still do enjoy it. There are still good people there.”
The former Kiwi player also gave further insight into the type of abuse he received, with some coming from senior citizens and even young children that autumn. One young girl’s sign at a training session made him laugh, even if the mother of the child didn’t find it funny.
“We toured directly after the Lions tour in the autumn of that year. That was tough. There were comments thrown at me by people as I walked past. At the airport, I remember an older couple looking at me and saying: ‘Disgrace. You’re a disgrace.’
“Then at one of our training sessions, there was a mother and daughter, who was about nine, with a banner saying, ‘What you did was disgraceful.’
“I looked at the girl, and she was smiling at me. The mother was not smiling. I wondered if the daughter actually understood what it was all about. That’s the main thing I remember.”
Ireland next faces Argentina at the Aviva Stadium on Friday, November 15, followed by Fiji on Saturday, November 23, and concludes with a match against Australia for Irish rugby’s 150th Anniversary Test on Saturday, November 30 (kick-off 3:10 p.m.).
All of these matches will be broadcast live on Virgin Media in the Republic of Ireland and TNT Sports in the United Kingdom.
Ireland squad for the Autumn Nations Series
Forwards (19): Ryan Baird, Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Beirne, Caelan Doris (captain), Tadhg Furlong, Cian Healy, Dave Heffernan, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Cormac Izuchukwu, Rónan Kelleher, Joe McCarthy, Peter O’Mahony, Tom O’Toole, Andrew Porter, Cian Prendergast, James Ryan, Nick Timoney, Josh van der Flier
Backs (16): Bundee Aki, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Ciaran Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park, Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Stuart McCloskey, Conor Murray, Calvin Nash, Jamie Osborne, Sam Prendergast, Garry Ringrose, Jacob Stockdale
Training Panellists: Thomas Clarkson, Alex Kendellen, Shayne Bolton, Jack Boyle, and Gus McCarthy
Autumn Nations Series 2024 Fixtures:
- Friday, November 15: Ireland vs. Argentina, Aviva Stadium, 8.10pm
- Saturday, November 23: Ireland v Fiji, Aviva Stadium, 3.10pm
- Saturday, November 30: Ireland vs. Australia, Aviva Stadium, 3.10pm