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The reaction to Scott Higginbotham’s suspension for ‘striking’ and ‘head butting’ Richie McCaw has been a little hypocritical, not to mention precious, hasn’t it?
I’ll say upfront, McCaw is probably the greatest ever.
I hope he’s knighted.
But certain, mostly Kiwi, reactions to his perceived ill treatment have been a little over the top. I mean come on, are we talking about an All Black open side flanker and a Test match or someone’s daughter on the way to a debutante ball?
Steve Hansen, the incredibly smug individual that he is, seems to have disregarded the origins of rugby thuggery (and the origin of certain All Black halfbacks but that’s another story). Throwing stones in glass houses springs to mind.
One Richard Loe, suspended for nine months for eye gouging and splattering Paul Carozza’s nose across his face with a stray forearm, could give Hansen some pointers. As could Mr Adam Thompson, the All Black 6 who punched and stomped on William Wallace last week. He got one (1!) week.
You didn’t see Andy Robinson, the Scottish coach, rushing in to the dressing sheds to massage his player in the bath. You didn’t hear Steve Hansen opining that Thompson’s one-week suspension was funnier than Billy Connolly with Tourette’s either.
Aside from highlighting Hansen’s obvious hypocrisy and love affair with McCaw, all this talk of cheap shots and thuggery has actually devalued the words.
Eye gouging, or La Fourchette (‘the fork’) as the French call it, is thuggery. A prop forward dropping his forearm onto a winger’s face while said winger lies on the ground is a cheap shot. An All Black 6 stomping on the head of a man trapped beneath a collapsed maul is thuggery and cheap together.
Two flankers coming to grips in a ruck is not.
What happened between McCaw and Higginbotham at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane was pure unadulterated theatre. The ‘head butt’ and ‘knee’ were about as vicious as those inflicted by my seven year old nephews during a Sunday afternoon scrap.
No doubt the Argentineans were sitting at home with their lovely wives, sipping Malbec on their beef farms, giggling about the ferocity of it all.
Yet the incident has dominated blogs and apparently greatly offended Mr Hansen’s sensibilities. Has rugby really come to that? Or is it really about maintaining the ‘All Black Aura’, ensuring nobody can be as aggressive as they are, making sure Richie can go about his dark arts free from any retaliation?
Let me be clear, McCaw is brilliant, he does nothing that Pocock, Hooper or any other great open sides doesn’t. But why is he a protected species? Why is it that Steve Hansen criticizes sides for matching All Black intensity, physicality and all out aggression?
I would suggest that it is the same reason why sides aren’t ‘allowed’ to advance on the Haka. It has nothing to do with cultural sensitivities and everything to do with the Kiwis deepest, darkest fear. Losing the All Black Aura.
It is no coincidence that the Wallabies best results over the past 36 months have come on the back of aggression. There were the victories in Hong Kong and Brisbane and the 18-all draw against New Zealand.
The face saving 20-14 win at Twickenham and the last gasp drought breaker in Pretoria also spring to mind. The lift in passion, intensity and aggression in all of those games was noticeable.
I for one won’t criticise Higginbotham. He overstepped the mark, just. He got two weeks. But it was worth it to lay down a marker.
I only hope that more of the Wallabies refuse to take a backward step against any team, especially the All Blacks.
It took the likes of Sam Scott-Young, Willy O and Tim Gavin to ignite the fires of Aussie rugby. Wouldn’t it be great to see Moore, Douglas, Higgers and the Honey Badger advance on the Haka once more.
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.