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Sport

01st Jul 2017

This sickening hit on Lions star earned Sonny Bill Williams a red card

Crunching

Patrick McCarry

Referee Jerome Garces was left with no choice.

Sonny Bill Williams was sent off after 24 minutes of the Second Test between New Zealand and the Lions after a quite gruesome head-hit on Anthony Watson.

With the game tied 3-3 in squalid conditions, Williams crunched into Watson’s temple with a stiff shoulder.

Credit: Sky Sports

Each replay of the incident made it look worse and Garces sent Williams on his way. He is the first All Blacks player to get a red card since Colin Meads in 1967.

Watson went off for a Head Injury Assessment but was deemed safe to play on.

There was a strong reaction to the hit online: