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Wales Online
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Matthew Southcombe

Josh Adams left raging as red card tackle completely missed in England game sparks cryptic Erasmus tweet

South Africa boss Rassie Erasmus returned to Twitter on Monday to highlight a red card offence that was completely missed during Wales' defeat to England.

In the final minutes of the match, with Wales looking to claw their way back into the game, Josh Adams gets himself on the receiving end of a Dan Biggar cross kick.

As Adams looks to break clear, he is tackled by the covering Joe Marchant.

Read next: The latest Six Nations headlines are here.

The English replacement appears to make contact squarely with Adams' jaw as he is tackled to the turf, an incident completely missed by all the officials.

Then, when Adams is on the turf at the bottom of the following ruck, Marchant gestures towards Adams, appearing to tell either touch judge Frank Murphy - or someone else on the sideline - that his opposite number is struggling.

Moments later, Adams was forced to leave the field for a head injury assessment and looked furious that the tackle went unpunished.

Using World Rugby's framework for dealing with high tackles, it is difficult to see any mitigation and any outcome other than a red card for Marchant, had the incident been picked up.

Had Marchant been sent off, it is impossible to predict what impact it would have had on the result of the match. Wales were trailing 23-12 at the time with three minutes remaining.

Erasmus returned from a five-week Twitter hiatus to highlight the incident in a thinly-veiled cryptic tweet.

He posted two angles of the tackle. Along with the first, he tweeted praise for Wales fly-half Dan Biggar and did not mention the tackle at all.

Erasmus merely pointed out that the Welshman has a 'big match temperament' but the clip slowed down and replayed the collision between Adams and Marchant.

Posting the tackle a second time with 'a better wider shot' Erasmus said the cross-kick was very difficult to defend. But the clip slowed down, and this time zoomed in, on Marchant's tackle.

In the wider shot, you can see Adams bellowing at the touch judge for missing the tackle as he is tended to by medical staff.

During the break in play, referee Mike Adamson can be heard telling Wales skipper Biggar: "It's a HIA, we're just seeing if we need to check."

But then seconds later he blows his whistle to signal the resumption of play as the Wales fly-half kicks to the corner.

Marchant has not been cited for the incident.

In November, Erasmus was found guilty of misconduct after his hour-long video of perceived injustices during the first Lions Test last summer.

Joe Marchant gestures at Adams as he tells someone on the touch line that the Welshman is struggling (S4C)

The South Africa director of rugby was completely banned from rugby for two months and also forbidden from taking part in any matchday activities, including coaching and media duties, until September 30, 2022.

The long-awaited verdict came four months after Erasmus launched an unprecedented grenade with an astonishing hour-long video rant at the officials in the opening Lions Test against the Springboks last summer.

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