Right everybody – having perused these pages the last few month I reckon we need a STW Rugby Thread Code of Conduct so that nobody is ever offended or even mildly irritated.

Here are some suggestions:

Any reference to any previous match results or incidents to be avoided in case it causes any member anxiety, despair or nationalistic/ethnic/rascist outrage.

No admittance that rugby is a physical game and that some of the blokes who play it can be a bit naughty.

The word “gypsy” to be replaced with “decent honest travelling folk”.

The ethnic slur “Jock” to be replaced with “J-Word”.

The word “sw**ty” to be replaced with “perspiration filled” and only used to refer to actual smelly items of clothing.

The words “Welsh, Scottish, English and Irish” to be replaced with “valued members of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.”

No reference to any colour whatsoever, including describing team shirts.

Everyone has to agree with what everyone else says.

Nothing of any interest to be said at all

That should cover it…..

Anyway, anyone else disappointed that Gatland hasn’t taken the chance to bring more young players in for the Italy game? The next World Cup is just around the corner…..

My thoughts exactly. There’s an exciting looking young winger down in the Scarlets who could probably do with twenty minutes experience of an international and on current form might be a better starting bet than Amos. (I’ve totally forgotten his name..) And plenty of back-row options who could do with some experience.

I seem to upset most people from time to time, does that mean I’m banned ?

Just spoke to Mrs B about the term gypsy, not one she knows as in France they are called “Roma” (from equivalent of Romany). Genuine question, would Roma be offensive as it seems to me closer to calling someone English ?

Could you start another thread about it and and leave this one to discuss rugby?

zokes – Still not a customer

No, it’s classic A_A can’t quite bring himself to agree with me.

Posted 1 hour ago #

Did you join this thread just to troll AA? (AGAIN)

Yes. With time added on for previous bad behaviour. 😆

Youngs had a good game against Wales but sill threw some outrageous hospital passes that stalled our attack a few times. I’m glad to see Care start.

Some of his passing is truly awful; the ball is often lobbed out from a ruck often at head of feet height. It’s a running joke with the Tigers fans I work with. Saying that, I agree that he did have one of his better games on Saturday.

It’ll be interesting if one of the other 9’s gets a shot in the summer – surely Youngs will need a rest. He’s played a lot of rugby in the last year.

[/quote]Still we have a 3 test tour in NZ to blood some youngsters this summer…[/quote] yeah, that’s going to go well
It’s odd, ‘cos Gatland used to bring in youngsters…North, Halfpenny(?), and we have the under 20s heading towards a Grand Slam…surely some of them could use exposure at a higher level

Steffan Evans? He’s made some good breaks but the jump from Pro12 is hard to gauge how he’d get on. Jordan Williams would be an interesting one but again probably not a good fit and having a tough time with injuries. Not being 3m tall and 200kg also works against them and every other Welsh winger at the moment 😕

With the Welsh backrow??? Are Shingler, Tiperitch* and Moriaty (Turnball too???) the only capped back rows floating around?

*yes I know that is not the spelling but I’m yet to hear anyone pronounce his name correctly

Ospreys 5/6 – James King?

You’re probably right. (And so is a_a but don’t tell him. 😀 )

Not sure about this but his slow speech may be a lasting affect from his stroke

Replacements: C Chat, U Atonio, X Chiocci, P Jedresiak, W Lauret, S Bezy, J Plisson, M Medard.

Spedding and Trinh-Duc starting should make a world of difference in any other team but France will find a way to be atrociously poor in spite of this. Forwards will hand England penalties throughout and be knackered by 50 minutes for England to push on for a proper score line.

Makes no difference – punching or elbowing people is illegal and gets players sent off most of the time. And that’s been the same for decades – we could produce endless clips of players being sent off for less than Marler did.

Funnily enough I’ve been thinkingthat the refs are being quite lenient on foul play this season. I watched one game, Top 14 I think, where a player was penalised for a very obvious punch in a scrum. (Prop swinging at another prop as the ball was put in, iirc.) That’s been a red card forever, but the ref let it go with just a penalty.

That picture was prior to the contact. I don’t know how anyone can think it was anything other than a cheap shot to the chin when Evan’s head gets rocked back, Marler’s elbow ends resting on his chin… and also the bit where you clearly see the forearm and elbow hit the chin Add in the stare deep in to Evans’s eyes and the timing not in keeping with the flow of play. Marler is hardly the first to ever do anything like this but it’s pretty brainless if picked up and a good try reversed.[/quote]

From this picture how else could he have cleared Evans out?

[/url]

He didn’t hit him the head because it wouldn’t have been effective; Evans would have taken a blow to the side of the head and not been rolled onto his back. He hit him on the left shoulder / upper chest to roll him onto his back; Evan’s own arm stops any meaningful contact with the head / chin.

Can Gatland retract his apology now that we’ve established that Marler’s comment was so trivial that no further action is needed?

AA – even in your link (which is from the worst angle and doesn’t show it in context) then it’s clear he’s struck him in the armpit / under the shoulder. The wrist / forearm ends up in his face but that’s absolutely normal – he’s trying to get him away from the ball carrier; if you really think that level of contact in a ruck / drive for the line should be a citable offence then maybe rugbys not the game for you. I’d suggest you’d see similar or worse at 30% of rucks in most premiership games. I’m not suggesting we go back to the days of 99 calls or packs milling at each other but a ban for this would be pathetic.

I’m not being partisan either – I’d say the same if the situation was reversed. I also think it’s fairly farcical that a player can get banned for 8 weeks for an offence that on the day both the ref and TMO reviewed yet didn’t think was worth a card. If rugby loses its physicality then much of what makes the game great will go with it and we’ll descend into footballerish name calling and pathetic niggle.

BBS + others

He didn’t strike a prone player, he cleared out a player who was very much in play whilst trying to drive his own player over the try line. I don’t think we’ll agree on this one but I at least am heartened by the decision of the citing committee.

I do agree with you that gouging has no part in the game (and has never been acceptable in any era) and a zero tolerance approach is the right way ahead. That said I’m not convinced it was a deliberate but poorly executed gouge in this case – just looked like a frustrated player trying to grab; admittedly arguably reckless. Either way I think it’s inconsistent verging on farcical than an offence that supposedly merits an 8 week ban is reviewed by both ref and TMO during the game who decide it’s not worth a yellow. As someone pointed out above had Wales got the extra try – and they were bloody close – then the 8 week ban would have seemed a fairly cheap price to pay…