Quote: MattyB "Never been a fan of this tackle. Wasn't it Maguire who brought this tactic in? We do use it a lot, sometimes it goes wrong, most famously Jeff Lima few years ago again at Headingley.
By all means third man comes in to wrap the legs and make the player fall to the floor but to aim at the knees when a player is at a standstill is dangerous.'"
I've never been a fan of any illegal tackle. It's not the third man in that's the problem it's how that player enters the tackle. If the ref hasn't called held then any defender is entitled to join in the tackle. For us it is a means of slowing the play the ball down. They aim to increase the length of time between initial contact and they player hitting the deck at the same time if possible turn he player so he is on his back and facing the wrong way which will then take longer for the player to get up.
My main point is it's all about how the so called third man in enters the tackle. It simply can't be around the knee area, if a player gets it wrong and makes contact around the knees they he should recieve a lengthy ban. The defender can also achieve the objective of slowing the play the ball down without going in with too much force. There's nothing wrong with the third man in as long as it's done correctly, Tautai didn't do it correctly therefore he is up for a suspension.
I'd like to see the refs calling held earlier, if the attacker has won the wrestle and avoided being put on the floor he deserves a quick play the ball. The refs, particularly with clubs like Leeds who are known for their offloads don't call held quick enough IMO. Call held sooner, the third man can't get in, problem solved