Pocock and du Plessis stoush put to rest

I distinctly recall Pocock sledging Toby Flood as they ran off the field at half-time in Perth last year. He clearly likes to inject a bit of needle into matches so it's frankly laughable that he should then go whining on the twitter machine when someone says something unpleasant to him. I also think he's an over-rated player. He's a fine jackal, to be sure, but that's pretty much all he has to his game. He's an extremely poor ball carrier for someone so big, and I suspect he's actually too developed for his frame - there's a touch of the Andrew Sheridans about him, so cumbersome is his running style. He might just about edge McCaw as a pure jackal but McCaw is absolutely streets ahead of him in every other respect. Moody outplayed him at Sydney and Twickers too.

:-) Sure, but what I meant was that one dangerous clean out from a ruck doesnt necessarily mean he is a dirty player. The South Africans play in an aggressive intimidatory manner and thats part of their charm. We have our running rugby, the English have 10 man rugby, and the kiwis are just annoyingly good. Each country has a style of play that makes the game more interesting to watch. Sure they have Botha or had Mr Clothesline - de Wet Barry. But I dont think describing all South Africans players as filth is helpful or accurate.

Sorry zhenry that is not what I meant. I should have referenced one of the previous blogs that said Pocock owned the world 7 in some eyes. I did not intend to compare McGaw to the whining in Pocock's twit.

This incident should have been sighted, absolutely no doubt. How did it not? But as for dragging in the ABs and comparing Wallabies to AB key players...P... Off. The sun shines out of some Australians a.......s on this site.

Doug, Now you've seen Duplicity play so add him to your list of filth from the republic, if there is room on the page.

I havent seen Jannie du Plessis play to much so I could be wrong but I am not aware of him being consistently involved in dirty play. It is possible that this was just an attempt to clean out Pocock after the ball was gone that went wrong. Apparently du Plessis and Pocock have sorted it out between them selves. I would have preferred the discipline commision bods to slap du Plessis over the wrist with atleast a week ban to say cleaning out players by the neck isnt a good idea even if there was no intent. If you recall a few years back Lotte Tuquiri dumped Ritchie McCaw on his head. As an Aussie fan it looked pretty clear Tuquiri was trying to put a heavy but fair tackle on McCaw and that it had gone horribly wrong. Our kiwi friends on the other hand took a very different view of the matter - that it was just dirty play. In the end Tuquiri got suspended for doing the wrong thing what ever his intentions were. I dont see this name calling helps anything. Nobody apart from du Plessis knows why he did what he did. If it was illegal and dangerous play he should be given a holiday so in future players dont try to copy it.

Pocock should just keep his mouth shut the same as the other useless comments from the rest of the other idiot comments fom O'Connor Copper Fiannga's. No oe is in Richie Mccaw's league and never will be he owns the world seven spot and there will never be anybody his equal.

In your opinion AJ Sylvester, but then you are an arm chair watching critic like everyone else, and so am I. However in discussions with my Professional Rugby playing mates, there is a consensus that the dirtiest league is France, followed by Italy, with the South African Currie Cup probably only ranking third. This is from my Australian mates who played in Here and in Europe. From the Saffas, Victor Matfiled has also often said that the French league is the most violent he has ever played in. Considering that Victor has never got a yellow card in his ten year long international career, I do listen to what he says, but I wouldn't be surprised if you AJSylvester would probably label him as a dirty player too. It an out of date stereotype to bring into Saffa-Australia debates, harping back to when Rudolf Straueli was coach of the Boks. Jake White changed all that, because you can't win a world cup. that is decided on penalties without a supremely disciplined team. I do agree that P Divvy has let the Boks slide in this aspect recently, which is a worry.

This is some bloke bulldogging: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwOtDtuDnV0

Tweeting is so teenage-girlish and Shane Warne too :-) Something is not right when rugby players are tweeting - The whole percpetion of Nia Tialata from the Hurricanes went down because all he seems to do is Tweet while his rugby gets worse.

{yawn}

>>Try get your facts straight before labelling Burger an eye-gouger.<< Is this straight enough? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NYONDg4J_E

I agree its common practise for Boks to attack the head of an opposition player when that player is defenceless.

"what happens on the pitch stays on the pitch" is a load of codswallop....designed to perpetuate filth from the republic where its endemic. Dirtiest players on the planet, daylight second.

Sure, I watched them. In both cases, I thought the ref should follow your recommendation and issue a yellow card for deliberate slowing of the ball.

Try get your facts straight before labelling Burger an eye-gouger. The citing commissioner (ie: an independent individual far more qualified and experienced than you) punished Burger for a reckless action and confirmed the action as unintentional. Had it been determined he had intentionally eye-gouged his opponent he would have been deservedly rubbed out of the game for closer to 12 months. As it was, an 8 week penalty is the minimum penalty available for an offence involving contact with the face and that's exactly what he got. Open your other eye and try think things through in future.

Storm in a teacup. It is now common practice to try destabilise an opponent in this way when at the ruck. The aim is to get them off their feet so they can no longer compete for the ball. It is often more effective than trying to drive them off the ruck when they're already crouched down over the ball (something Pocock is very good at). It was just unfortunate that Pocock's leg became trapped under Beast's body as he was being dragged off the ruck by Du Plessis. As for Du Plessis's comment about breaking his neck, those sorts of comments are flung around every minute of a match by members of both teams. There's nothing more to it than that.

perhaps the saffas go after him because he is a southern african.

It looks pretty bad, but agree Pocock should of left those comments on the field. Its fairly immature to start twittering that kind of stuff.

His injury didn't stay on the pitch? I guess you're not a rugby fan, KTinHK.