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One of the more macabre incidents in world sport in recent times was brought to a judicial conclusion a couple of days back when Dean Richards, former England and Lions No. 8 and the former director of rugby for Harlequins was banned from coaching for three years after being found guilty of serial cheating.
For those unfamiliar with this story, it goes back to the closing minutes of the Heineken Cup quarter final against Leinster last season. With Quins trailing by a point, Tom Williams came off under the blood rule, which in turn allowed for the re-entry of goal kicker Nick Evans.
The cameras caught the Quins physio slipping Williams a little something, what we now know to be some sort of blood capsule, presumably ordered by mail from one of those joke shop ads at the back of Mad magazines, replete with whoopee cushion.
The club phsyio involved, who happens to be Australian, was rubbed out for two years. But the club doctor, who happens to be female, got away with a light rap over the knuckles.
A key aspect about this whole matter has been the premeditation involved (what we might loosely describe as match day planning), and the presentation of evidence that indicated it was not an isolated incident.
I’ve raised this case because:
1. It’s a bit out of left field
2. I have an interest in the various rules and philosophies that surround this whole area of interchange/substitution in the four football codes.
A question that arises for me immediately is whether it is worthwhile having such stringent rules of substitution if it means that coaches will think up ingenious ways of substituting players to meet an urgent tactical need out on the field.
It’s curious that well into last century, all four codes had fairly similar principles in terms of when and how often players could be substituted, but then rules started to diverge from the 1970s onwards, to where we are today, where all four codes have differing approaches in this respect.
The different rules are, in most cases, backed by different philosophies as to what the respective games entail.
I would like to you use this odd sporting story as a catalyst to explore people’s views on the different rules and philosophies that are currently at work in the four codes surrounding the interchange or substitution of players.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.