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Bullies in the Rugby Union playground

30th September, 2011
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Roar Guru
30th September, 2011
30
1806 Reads

The IRB has fined the Samoa player, Alesana Tuilagi, $10,000 for wearing a branded, mouth-guard in the side’s 27-7 win over Fiji last Sunday.

This has become a step too far in the protectionism sagas being enforced by the IRB.

Rules regarding who, what and where are appearing to be stretched like Shanghais to suit the offences of some but not of others.

To the general public looking over the fence, the inference implied is that offences are determined on who you are and where you are from, not to mention the clout your union has, with the resultant fallout of the punishment administered being either lenient or severe, again dependent on the player/team/union.

The Samoan player Tuilagi has little in money resource as compared to any All Black/Australian/English team and because he wears a mouth-guard that has not been sanctioned by the IRB, he is fined.

On the other hand, but for the game being a one-sided outcome, two members of the England coaching staff, kicking coach Dave Aldred and fitness coach Paul Stridgeon who illegally switched the match ball during a win against Romania, are only banned from watching the Scotland versus England encounter from the playing rugby ground.

Had the game been one where the outcome had been decided by their actions, would the IRB have said that the RFU has investigated this matter fully, taken appropriate action and that the Rugby Football Union (RFU) acted swiftly to ban the duo and Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) confirmed that because of the action no further sanctions will be brought against England.

So, someone from a rank one nation that breaks the rules to this degree, (I think English writer Mark Reason calls this cheating), escapes with a ban and a player from a poor and minnow country gets a $10,000 fine.

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Where is the justice here?

Quade Cooper of Australia knees Richie McCaw in the head in the final Tri-nation game which should have given him a suspension of at least three weeks and yet, is let off because, in my opinion, his next games were the Rugby World Cup.

Yet, there is a knee offence by Russia’s Valery Tsnobiladze in the match between Ireland and Russia in Rotorua on September 25 he is suspended for three weeks. Where is the justice here?

Are the judicial rule-enforcers supposed to be operating from the same rule book sanctioned by the IRB, or is there a set of rules for some and another set of rules for others?

The whole damn thing is starting to look like bullies in a playground.

There is inconstancy for expedient reasons happening throughout our game and from every facet of it. Our game is being brought into disrepute by these apparent inconsistencies and there is now a need to correct it all before the whole dissension starts to fragmentize the game past fix-ability.

Somehow, I think, it has simply become a point of ‘mind over matter’.

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