Ireland coach Ged Corcoran has slammed Jared Waerea-Hargreaves’ “dog shot” and believes it should have been a send-off.
Waerea-Hargreaves was sin binned in the first half of New Zealand’s 48-10 win over Ireland at Emerald Headingly Stadium on Friday night (Saturday AEDT) after he collected Dan Norman high in a tackle.
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The Kiwis star, who had just returned from a three-game suspension for dangerous contact in the Roosters’ elimination final loss, now faces another nervous wait to see if he’ll be free to play in the World Cup finals.
A fuming Corcoran felt for his player, who was on debut for Ireland, and believes Waerea-Hargreaves old got off lightly.
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“I’ve got to be careful with what I say but really disappointed with that dog shot (from) Hargreaves,” he said.
“I’ve lost two boys this week, two influential players for us on a misdemeanour charge which we challenged and were unsuccessful.
“For me that’s a game changer… it’s just a hard one to swallow.
“100 per cent (should have been sent off). It was a clear shoulder to the head, it’s ended his night, it’s ended his debut.
“The kid’s dreamt of this since he was a child so to end your debut like that there’s nothing worse is there?”
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New Zealand coach Michael Maguire, on the other hand, kept his cards close to his chest.
“I spoke to (Waerea-Hargreaves) at half time. We just need to go through the process and see where that’s it,” he said.
Asked if he was concerned, Maguire said: “Not really, I had a look at it but I had a wide view so we we’ve just got to go through the process.”
Maguire conceded his side were “clunky at times” and “have a bit to work on” before they likely take on Fiji in the quarter-finals.
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And although Ireland’s World Cup campaign has come to an end, Corcoran took a lot of confidence out of his side’s performance — and despite New Zealand being the No.1 ranked side, he believes they can be beaten.
“I think we challenged them… if that’s the benchmark for New Zealand, let’s see how they go for the rest of the tournament,” Corcoran said.
“I hope they win it, I wish them the best of luck. But I think there’s other teams that will be licking their lips after tonight’s game.”
