‘Banjaxed!,” explained Alastair Eykyn.
One of the biggest hits ever seen at the Principality Stadium occurred at the weekend.
The tackle in question took place in the English Premiership match between Bristol Bears and Bath Rugby at the Principality Stadium.
With 47 minutes played, Bath scrum-half Louis Schreuder fed the ball into 22-year-old fly-half Ciaran Donoghue, who got absolutely levelled by Fijian number eight Viliame Mata.
Young Donoghue was sent flying back with jaw-dropping force, with slow motion replays showing Mata literally folding his opponent in the tackle. Replays prompted a huge cacophony of ‘Ooos’ from the crowd, who were stunned. Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free
The TNT Sports commentary team of Alastair Eykyn and Jamie Roberts were blown away as Sam Warburton also watched on.
“Let’s see this monumental shot,” began Eykyn. “Banjaxed!”
“Thank you very much!,” added Roberts. “That is a great, great tackle. He’s got the ball away. You know it’s coming, don’t you, Sam (Warburton)! You’re about to pass a ball and you know you’ve got someone haring at you.”
You can watch the clip below.
Most were blown away by the tackle, while others praised Donoghue for getting back up straight away and focusing on the game.
“Got the hit, fell down and his first concern was if his pass reached the player. That’s the sport we love,” said one.
The final score was 36-14 to Bristol Bears, thanks to tries from Gabriel Ibitoye, Rich Lane, Gabriel Oghre, Fitz Harding, Will Capon and Mata himself.
Of course, this isn’t the first time that ‘Bill’ Mata has flattened someone in the Premiership.
Just last month, you may remember England international Henry Slade taking a very similar shot from the Fiji star, prompting a strong reaction from Warburton, who was on commentary. Watch that tackle by clicking here.
“My goodness. I haven’t seen many of those. That is massive. We’re hearing now that the tackle is fine,” said Warburton.
“I think that is one of the biggest hits I’ve seen, that was massive.”
The ‘Big Day Out’ event at the Principality Stadium was a huge success, with over 51,000 English fans packed inside the home of Welsh rugby.
It gave Cardiff a taste of what’s to come, with both European rugby finals being played at the Principality Stadium. Bath play Lyon on May 23, with Northampton Saints v Bordeaux Begles on May 24.
