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Ahem, ‘stripping’, as in stripping the ball from a player in a ball game. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines stripping as the “act of pulling or tearing off”.
In the rugby context, it is the stripping of a ball from the control of a player.
I was aghast as I saw, for the first time ever, an example of stripping the ball at the Rugby World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand.
In the 44th minute, after the Ma’a Nonu try, Aaron Smith box-kicked from the base of the ruck. The ball travelled to the Australian half of the field and was caught by Drew Mitchell in mid-air.
Mitchell landed on his feet, and Nehe Milner-Skudder tried to tackle him. As his feet neared the ground, Sonny Bill Williams stretched out an arm and slapped the ball from the crook of Mitchell’s arm.
The ball came loose and Nigel Owens, the referee, adjudged a knock-on and awarded the scrum to New Zealand!
There should be no room for stripping in rugby. It should be adjudged as foul play. The player caught stripping should be penalised with a yellow card, and the team from whom the ball was stripped should be awarded a penalty.
It definitely is not a knock-on!
There is nothing skilful in stripping. It is an opportunistic act, and should have no place in rugby.
My horror of stripping comes from watching the New England Patriots continuously stripping the ball against opponents in American football in the mid 1980s (obviously a long time ago).
They went to the Super Bowl as the American conference winners, but lost in the Super Bowl, and I have disliked the Patriots ever since. (To put it into perspective, however, in my recent viewings of American football, I have not seen any stripping at all.)
I hope that incidence of stripping at the Rugby World Cup final is the last time I’ll ever see stripping in rugby.
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.