It defeats the purpose of having a TMO in the first place.
If Gardner was so certain of his conviction then one wonders why he even bothered going up to the TMO.
A fellow TV commentator tried to convince Marshall about the "landing and potential" danger that could have resulted from the spectacular head-first plunge but the former Crusaders halfback wasn't done.
If we're going to go hypothetical, then why not go all the way.
Forget the potential. Let's picture Dixon in the Burwood Spinal Unit in Christchurch.
Would anyone care whether Sanzaar deems it necessary to mete out further punishment for that matter?
No, the immediate concern would be the welfare of the player, not sitting there trying to figure out through some perceived sense of virtual reality that Ngatai was involved in a collision.
Dixon wasn't in a collision any more than Highlander Jason Emery was in taking out Sharks fullback Willie le Roux two rounds ago in Dunedin.
Suggestions that Dixon jumped into a tackle are as ludicrous as speculation on what Ngatai may or not have done had the flanker grabbed the ball.
The simple argument is when you grab a player's legs you know straight away if you've lifted him, especially when you see and feel him going over your shoulder.
The sixth sense suggests you don't go there at all.
As remorseful as a talented Ngatai may be, he showed no intentions of pulling out of the lift for fear of losing the ball to Dixon, full stop.
Never mind the sneer on Highlanders fullback Ben Smith's face when Gardner pulled out a yellow card - it's not about consistency when juxtaposed with Emery or Nemani Nadolo, or a swag of other cases.
It's simply about player safety but it seems not everyone is seeing that picture.
Ngatai has been matched with Ryan Crotty and is clearly statistically having a better season than the Crusader for an All Black berth for the midfield but all that doesn't detract from the fact that he had a rush of blood to his head.
Maybe the presence of the three wise men from the All Blacks coaching stable did little to soothe his nerves.
To switch play, how good were the Highlanders in shutting up the pundits who grossly inflated the Chiefs' prowess before the encounter.
The cock-a-snook, thumb on the nose and wiggly finger salute, from a Highlanders player on the Chiefs' turf summed it up nicely.
As hard as it may seem to comprehend, the old adage that it's not how you start but how you finish a season rings true here.
That, of course, doesn't mean that the Highlanders will necessarily come away with a win over the Crusaders this weekend because the table-toppers have made an art of up-the-guts rugger.
It simply means the defending champions, in the space of two games, reflected coach Jamie Joseph's resolve despite a few nail-biting losses.
They remain the most exciting franchise in broken play and also back it up with some soul-destroying defence.
No one gave them a chance to win last season and that obviously hasn't changed this year.
Oh, by the way, Highlanders winger Waisake Naholo was far from brilliant.
His impact was not as surprising as his return from a lengthy injury layoff after playing a club match.
Give a big rig room that close to the line and he'll always dart over for a try, but how good was his ability to turn over balls from rucks?
However, the euphoria of Naholo's return is quite understandable considering Julian Savea remains in the doldrums.
A more burning question in Super Rugby is how long does a tackled attacking player have to lie on a ball before the referee deems it to be a penalty?
Conversely, how long does Naholo have to have his mitts around the ball and try to wrench it off a player on the ground before the Chiefs' cavalry arrives?
