ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Romana Graham headbutt on Sean Maitland in ITM Cup Final

BY Grant Constable  ·  Sunday Sep 4, 2011

Romana Graham headbutt on Sean Maitland in ITM Cup Final

Canterbury claimed their fourth consecutive New Zealand provincial championship title as they won the ITM Cup Final, beating Waikato 12-3 in a tense affair on Saturday. Here’s one of the games’s more controversial moments.

It was the first ever tryless final in the NPC, as Waikato Stadium witnessed a hard fought battle that boiled over in the 60th minute as fullback Sean Maitland and lock Romana Graham came to blows off the ball.

Maitland had thrown a shocker of a pass before Graham, himself no stranger to a bit of the rough stuff, stuck his shoulder into the Canterbury flyer. Maitland retaliated, and a scuffle broke out that seemed to be just a bit of handbags before Graham stepped things up a level.

It was missed by the onfield officials and to this point it seems as though there has been no citing. We’ll keep an eye on how that develops but as it’s the end of the season, it’s possibly a tricky one. You’d expect a blatant headbutt to land him a hefty few months out of the game though.

As for the rest of the match, there weren’t too many other highlights worth showing, but it was one of those old fashioned type of arm-wrestles, which Canterbury won thanks to some good kicking from young Tom Taylor, who slotted all his kicks at goal.

“This is for the people of Christchurch,” said captain George Whitelock afterwards. “It’s the way we played in the second half, we really closed the game out from Waikato and for such a young group to do that is really pleasing, so the future of Canterbury rugby’s really strong,” he added.

Update: Graham has now been cited

Time: 01:20

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles

  • 29 WEEKS AGO

    Fiji Drua player Lomani slapped with ban...

  • 39 WEEKS AGO

    The sending off that rocked the Six Nations...

  • 40 WEEKS AGO

    Wrecking ball beats 10 players to score full...



ADVERTISEMENT

Great Tries

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    WATCH: Outlandish Jacob Stockdale finish is truly world class

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Ulster denied THE GREATEST URC try you will ever see!

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Capuozzo break sets Dupont up for hatrick on return

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Fans praise 'Dom Perignon Rugby' as Irish players prepare for final match of South African tour

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Harlequins winger heralded as the next big England breakthrough after weekend's performance

View All

Big Hits & Dirty Play

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    'Cheap shot' from Leicester Tigers vs Northampton Saints causing a stir online

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Wild moment leads to all in brawl during Welsh derby between Cardiff and Scarlets

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    South African school boy makes the greatest tackle ever

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Huge guillotine tackle divides fans in viral footage

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    Fans call for Stuart Hogg to face punishment after altercation involving ball boy

View All

See It To Believe It

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Insane moment as french backrow waves off medic and smokes Ange Capuozzo

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible drop goal helps break 25-match losing streak

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Leinster fly half delivers insane 50:22 after being given start for Emerging Ireland

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    French scrumhalf drills perfect shot at goal under outrageous circumstances

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Siya Kolisi makes young fans' day as he arrives at Cape Town school

View All

Funnies

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Jonny Sexton: 'Fondest memory of the Heineken Cup in 2011?' - 'Gordon D'Arcy's bar' and 'Coppers'

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Watch: Mike Haley's post match interaction with RG Snyman leaves no doubt about where Munster players stand

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    The rugby guy and Mack Hansen drop an all time BANGER with latest video

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    ‘Pitch is made of concrete’ - Fan provides much needed update following half time incident

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    'I have win!' Mathieu Raynal's hilarious player interaction caught on ref mic

View All

Amateur

  • 95 WEEKS AGO

    You Won’t See Many Better Than This Silky-Smooth Try From Llandovery RFC

  • 95 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes As Caldy RFC Hand Ealing First Championship Defeat Of The Season

  • 118 WEEKS AGO

    Dubious Score Decides Result Of Rugby's Biggest Schools Fixture

  • 118 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes At School Boys Rugby Match

  • 118 WEEKS AGO

    The Next Dominant Backrow?

View All

Player Features

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Louis Rees-Zammit opens up about his biggest shock in chasing NFL dream

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    'It's been an honour' - Wales legend retires from international rugby

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Jonny Sexton: 'Fondest memory of the Heineken Cup in 2011?' - 'Gordon D'Arcy's bar' and 'Coppers'

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    'It's been horrible' - Wales captain to miss Autumn Nations

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    'It was an easy decision for me' - Saints star commits to future

View All