THE WORLD OF rugby league has been stunned by Kiwi Issac Luke’s admission that he deliberately tried to break his own cousin’s leg on the field of play.
The hooker came up against New Zealand-born Rangi Chase in the recent Four Nations tournament in Britain and when he came face to face with his own family, he not only tackled Chase – who plays for England – he twisted his leg while he was unable to defend himself on the ground.
The incident saw Luke banned for two games and on his return to Australia – where he plays for South Sydney – the player admitted that Chase’s decision to play for a country other than New Zealand motivated him to take the matter into his own hands.
“I just saw red,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald. “A lot of the legends that played in the back and white jersey, they wanted blood. I guess that’s the mentality us young ones have taken on board. We had a talk the night before about what the jersey meant and that must have come out.
“When you come up against your family, you want to outplay them. I didn’t outplay him. I tried to break his leg. It was the wrong thing to do.
“Now I see that; at the time I didn’t. After the game I said sorry. He said it stays on the field.”
Speaking after the game, Chase insisted that he had no issue with the physical treatment he was subjected to. “As soon as I’d put my allegiance to England, I knew this was going to happen,” he told reporters (see Daily Mail).
“I’ve done bad things in the heat of the moment and you’ve got to roll on with it. If I’d have reacted in a different way, they’d have probably got what they wanted.”
The scrum-half had the better result on the day – England coming away with a 28-6 win to set up a final date with Australia. The hosts subsequently lost the showpiece though, going down 30-8 to their rivals after being outclassed in the second half.
Luke, for his part, has vowed to try and eliminate some of the nasty stuff, concluding to the Sydney Morning Herald: “I’ve got to try and control my aggression rather than try to break everyone. I’m regretting it but I can’t take it back. I need to wipe all that stuff out of my game.”
Still, the next family reunion might be a little awkward…
Rugby League star admits: I tried to break my cousin's leg
THE WORLD OF rugby league has been stunned by Kiwi Issac Luke’s admission that he deliberately tried to break his own cousin’s leg on the field of play.
The hooker came up against New Zealand-born Rangi Chase in the recent Four Nations tournament in Britain and when he came face to face with his own family, he not only tackled Chase – who plays for England – he twisted his leg while he was unable to defend himself on the ground.
Judge for yourself:
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The incident saw Luke banned for two games and on his return to Australia – where he plays for South Sydney – the player admitted that Chase’s decision to play for a country other than New Zealand motivated him to take the matter into his own hands.
“I just saw red,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald. “A lot of the legends that played in the back and white jersey, they wanted blood. I guess that’s the mentality us young ones have taken on board. We had a talk the night before about what the jersey meant and that must have come out.
“Now I see that; at the time I didn’t. After the game I said sorry. He said it stays on the field.”
Speaking after the game, Chase insisted that he had no issue with the physical treatment he was subjected to. “As soon as I’d put my allegiance to England, I knew this was going to happen,” he told reporters (see Daily Mail).
The scrum-half had the better result on the day – England coming away with a 28-6 win to set up a final date with Australia. The hosts subsequently lost the showpiece though, going down 30-8 to their rivals after being outclassed in the second half.
Luke, for his part, has vowed to try and eliminate some of the nasty stuff, concluding to the Sydney Morning Herald: “I’ve got to try and control my aggression rather than try to break everyone. I’m regretting it but I can’t take it back. I need to wipe all that stuff out of my game.”
Still, the next family reunion might be a little awkward…
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England Four Nations Issac Luke New Zealand Rangi Chase Rugby League South Sydney Yeuch!