Beno Obano’s Early Exit From Premiership Final After Red Card
Bath Rugby’s Beno Obano faced an abrupt end to his Premiership final appearance at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday, receiving a red card just 20 minutes into the clash against Northampton Saints.
The loosehead prop had enjoyed a strong start for the West Country outfit, with Bath’s scrum dominating early on. However, disaster struck when Obano made a high tackle on Northampton’s South African number eight Juarno Augustus inside the Saints’ 22-metre line.
“It’s direct contact; he has hit him in the chin. It is definitely foul play because he is hitting upwards, and the level of danger is clearly high because he is moving forward in the tackle; we aren’t considering any mitigation at this point.”
After the TMO prompted the referee, Christophe Ridley, to review the incident, it was determined that Obano had made direct contact with Augustus’ head. Ridley had no choice but to issue the red card, stating the above.
Impact on the Match
The dismissal proved to be a significant setback for Bath, as head of rugby Johann van Graan was forced to replace back-rower Alfie Barbeary with a front-rower to fill Obano’s position for the remainder of the match.
The reaction to the red card decision was largely in agreement that Ridley had made the correct call, with fans and pundits alike acknowledging the severity of the incident, despite empathizing with Obano, who is not known as a dirty player. One fan remarked:
“Red card is the right call. But I am gutted for Obano. He’s had a great season, probably his best ever. This means there is no way he will play for England this summer. The highs and lows of rugby, right before our eyes.”
The early dismissal of the Bath prop undoubtedly had a significant impact on the outcome of the rugby union Premiership final, and it remains to be seen how the rest of the match will unfold for the two teams.
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