Ferris himself noted that if it had been a punch, then he would not have said a word, in line with rugby's macho code of omerta in such matters. But gouging is something else altogether: sly, nasty, craven and spineless. It seems to be on the increase, a truly bizarre state of affairs given that the game has never been cleaner.
Dupuy felt hard done by, given that he had taken a few knocks that went unpunished. And so maybe his sense of grievance grew. In a previous era, he might have been able to vent his frustration in a routine dust-up.
The authorities have to adopt a zero-tolerance policy on gouging, which has not been the case of late. Colomiers prop Richard Nones became a cause célèbre 10 years ago after summarily being given a two-year ban for gouging Pontypridd hooker Sven Cronk in European competition. The matter was done and dusted within two hours of the final whistle, much to the consternation of the French club. Hence the furore that followed.
There was a different sort of outcry in the wake of the 18-week ban handed down to Perpignan hooker Marius Tincu last season, again for gouging. In the absence of video footage, there are inevitably grey areas.
What are we to make of the fact that the alleged miscreants are French? There will be another Frenchman in the dock in the coming days, given that Brive hooker Guillaume Ribes was sent off for kicking out against London Irish, although it was lock Arnaud Mela who actually seemed to let fly with an uppercut that triggered the trouble. Have the French reverted to type, to be damned for their ill-discipline?
Dupuy seemed to be an idiot, as have been a host of Irish, English and Welsh gougers banned in recent times, from Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley to Munster flanker Alan Quinlan, who blew the trip of a lifetime with the Lions for his gouging of Leinster lock Leo Cullen.
Burger and Parisse (another Stade Français man) have also been in the dock. They escaped lightly. The next to be found guilty must not. That is the clear message to emerge from a troubling weekend.
I was gouged in an elite series game this season. He missed my eye, but the intent was there. I approached him after the match to tell him I was disgusted by what he did (like Ferris, I expect to be punched now and again). The guy didn't seem to care one bit about what he had done, and didn't even try to deny it.
ReplyDeleteStill in the absence of video evidence, there is very little you can do to prevent this kind of thing at our level.
Har precis fått reda på att det går att göra något åt detta. I en match i elitserie kvalet i år så såg en ledare i ena laget ett slag (om det nu var så. Domaren såg ingeting av detta inte heller den drabbade spelarens lagkamrater utan endast denna ledare. Bevis i form av video eller foto saknas. Då ledaren anmälde detta till disciplinnämden skickades ärendet vidare till riksidrottsnämden som dömde spelaren till en månads avstängning utan några som helst bevis. Detta står till och med i beslutet men de har ändå valt att lita på en ensam ledares utsago.
ReplyDeleteSå min rekommendation till dig är att anmäla spelaren i fråga och om inte disciplinnämden dömer honom så överklaga till riksidrottsnämden så kan de stänga av honom. Det kommer bli en mycket intressant säsong där alla ledare som blir frustrerade när deras lag förlorar kan anmäla någon i andra laget eller varför inte två eller tre. Om sen andra laget motanmäler vad händer då? Kommer returmötet att spelas med färre spelare, eller ? Jag vet att det sista kanske var något överdrivet men jag tror att det här är en mycket farlig situation för svensk rugby. Vad tycker ni ?
Well it could be a potential minefield, but there is no place for this sort of cowardly action. The Union should make an example of any player found guilty of this and ban them for at least two years!
ReplyDeleteFats
Anonymous (2).
ReplyDeleteLet's call a spade a spade here. The Vänersborg number 10 got sent off for kicking a Spartacus planer. He then complained that a Spartacus player punched him. The VBG ledare was the number 10's father (as far as I am aware). It is the word of these two people that has punished the Spartacus player.
It should be pointed out that when the number 10 was sent off, he went back to the bench and roared all sorts of abuse at the referee, calling him every name under the sun (in Swedish so that the reff couldn't understand). The "ledare" ignored this, even though he spent most of the match threating Spartacus substitutes that he would report them to the union if they didn't stay behind the white line of the subs box. The “ledare” was a meter away from the number 10 while this abuse was being roared at the referee
Unbelievable stuff.