Euphoria turned to disbelief and anger may now be the next emotion in the evolution of the prolonged case of Adam Thomson and his charge of stomping on Scotsman Alasdair Strokosch.
The All Black flanker had been relieved, delighted even, to learn that he was only being punished with a one-week ban. But between receiving his punishment in London and flying back to Rome, everything changed. He arrived at the All Blacks Italian hotel to learn that the IRB chief executive Brett Gosper had been on Twitter announcing that the case would be reviewed as the governing body has the right to do.
He'll have to wait to see whether the threat from Gosper was real or a bullish response to some goading by prominent English media who took to the social media airwaves to express their outrage at the leniency of the ban.
The IRB have the right to review any hearing but it has surprised and most probably angered the All Blacks that within minutes of the finding being made public, the chief executive of the governing body was already promising to investigate.
"It has been a long day and at the end of it we clearly understand and accept the decision that has been passed out," said All Black assistant coach Ian Foster who had been helping Thomson with his defence. "It was a robust and thorough process."
