Controversial ‘tip tackle’ sparks huge debate after Springboks beat All Blacks

South Africa moved 2-1 ahead in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry after securing a dramatic 2924 victory over New Zealand in front of almost 88,000 supporters at Soccer City.

However, one incident involving All Blacks scrum-half Cam Roigard has sparked a huge debate online.

Footage circulating on social media shows Roigard making contact with a Springbok away from the ball before subsequently being lifted and dumped towards the turf.

Under World Rugby’s laws on foul play, Law 9.18 states that a player must not lift an opponent and then drop or drive them so that their head and/or upper body makes contact with the ground.

However, there is another element to the incident. Law 9.14 states that a player must not tackle an opponent who is not in possession of the ball, while Law 9.15 also prohibits certain forms of holding, pushing, charging or obstructing an opponent without the ball.

That has left supporters fiercely divided over the flashpoint.

One fan was furious with the outcome, writing: “Dropping a fella, who never had the ball, on his head isn’t a tip tackle. It’s foul play and should be a yellow card minimum.”

However, plenty of Springbok supporters saw the incident very differently.

One responded: “Number 9 was hanging onto him like a pile. Got thrown off like a tick.”

Another wrote: “It was soccer antics, no place in rugby.”

A third added: “He tackled without the ball, old AB trick! Where was the yellow card after the penalty try?”

Remarkably, even some New Zealand supporters weren't convinced Roigard had been hard done by.

One Kiwi fan wrote: “I’m a Kiwi and he milked that penalty. Get up and don’t grab your head when there’s nothing wrong. Well deserved win by the Springboks.”

Another supporter joked: “Should be an Oscar for Roigard. Award winning acting right there.”

Others remained adamant that the way Roigard was brought to ground should have resulted in further punishment, with one insisting: “That’s a yellow minimum.”

The incident added another controversial talking point to an already fiercely contested series.

The Springboks and All Blacks will now head to Baltimore for the fourth and final Test next Saturday, with South Africa holding a 2-1 advantage.

Here, we look at the All Blacks trio who failed to stand out when it mattered most.

Love endured a difficult afternoon, missing two conversions and a penalty, with his second conversion attempt greeted by plenty of boos from the crowd.

He was also shown a yellow card while defending on the Boks’ line, although he had worked hard defensively up to that point. Going forward, however, he struggled to get the All Blacks attack into any real rhythm and will be disappointed with his overall display.

The Hurricanes fly-half also lacked the usual running threat that makes him so difficult to defend. That threat often creates space for those around him, even when his playmaking is not quite at its best.

Without it, the All Blacks attack became relatively easy to contain, with only a handful of moments of individual brilliance from his teammates creating the opportunities that ultimately led to their scores.

The set piece was one of the biggest problems for the All Blacks, as they struggled to establish any kind of physical dominance against a powerful Springboks pack that enjoyed plenty of success in that area.

Lomax was solid enough in the scrum for much of the afternoon but failed to exert the kind of influence required against South Africa. He was eventually outmuscled on his own line, resulting in a penalty try.

The tighthead prop was replaced after 45 minutes and, overall, failed to make the same impact as starting loosehead George Bower.

Lomax is an experienced international and facing the Springboks is always a huge challenge, but if the All Blacks are going to compete with South Africa, their scrum has to be firing. It simply was not at the required level here.

Bower makes the list of underperformers for many of the same reasons as Lomax, although he can take slightly more credit for his overall contribution than his tighthead counterpart.

Unfortunately, his scrummaging also fell short of the exceptionally high standard required against the Springboks, which had a significant impact on the All Blacks' performance.

He conceded an early penalty but was heavily involved defensively, putting in plenty of tackles and showing an excellent work rate throughout his time on the field.

The scrum was relatively solid, but like Lomax, he was eventually overpowered on his own line, contributing to the penalty try. He was replaced after 45 minutes.