The Crusaders' win over the Sunwolves on Friday night may have been clear cut, but there was still plenty of confusion surrounding the plight of Seta Tamanivalu.
The All Blacks back was sinbinned during the first half of the Crusaders' 50-3 romp over the Japanese visitors for a dangerous aerial challenge, after which Tamanivalu lay prone on the ground in what was likely an attempt to divert the referee's attention from the incident to escape punishment, which was ultimately unsuccessful.
The winger was adamant he was able to return once his 10 minute penalty had been served, however the sideline doctor thought otherwise, refusing to allow him to return to the field despite not even administering a concussion test - a chance to prove he was fit to do so.
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson was certainly perplexed by the entire situation.
"The sideline doctor saw him lying down and they pulled him, which was a shame. This is a chance for me to say they have got a right to do that but maybe check him as well," said Robertson.
"They just made a call, and didn't let him go back on. But he seems fine. It is a bit of a shame."
Tamanivalu indicated he wasn't feeling any adverse effects from the tackle and continued to ask his coach if he could retake the field, all the while being confined to the sinbin chair, which only added further confusion.
"It was just a sideline doctor saying 'look he has lay down' and we think he has been knocked out … It is just a bit of a shame, because he is actually okay.
"I don't want to get too far down that track because it is for the welfare of the player. The ref looks at it on the screen and believes he was knocked out - (but) Seta said he was just lying there."
Tamanivalu aside, Robertson was most pleased with his side's efforts coming off the bye week, particularly the performances of his three key men coming back from extended injury absences.
"[Read] was outstanding, showed us how explosive he can be at times and what he can create.
While the victory was comprehensive, the contest itself degenerated in the final quarter with some sloppy play from both sides, the hosts unable to add any further points to their total through those 20 minutes.
"It was the most frustrating of [the contest]. The amount of penalties we gave away and the amount of handling errors kept them in it, so everything they got was off us.
"You could see the frustration on the players because they wanted to play, but the conditions probably didn’t allow for a few of those balls to stick.
"The Sunwolves were courageous – they stuck at it.
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