While all around appaer to be getting banned for some form of dangerous tackle, the All Blacks are basking in the glory of a sound disciplinary record.

It's been thirty internationals since an All Black was banned for a dangerous tackle, something the team is putting down to good coaching (anything is being put down to good coaching while Peter de Villiers is around).

Three players - Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie and Quade Cooper - have been banned for tip-tackling during this Tri-Nations, while the last All Black to cop disciplinary proceedings for such an offence was Brad Thorn, who dropped John Smit onto the turf two years ago.

Wayne Smith said that the AB management had been working hard on reminding the players about the need for discipline over the next couple of months, with preceived dangerous play top of the ZANZAR disciplinary agenda.

"We've done a lot of work on that," he said after the Monday training session ahead of Saturday's Bledisloe Cup opener.

"You still want to have a big impact in the tackle but we've been very conscious of being legal."

However, he did admit tacklers could not always avoid a bad outcome.

"You never know what's going to happen, it's not always intentional either.

"It's the way people are, the way bodies are falling. Sometimes it's just bad luck."

Smith supported the Sanzar judiciary taking a dim view on lifting tackles.

"It's good to make a stance isn't it? The law's pretty clear about lifting a player and upending him in the tackle. Jean de Villiers got penalised, if you do it that's what's going to happen."

planetrugby.com

26/07/2010