Sounds like a game was never in danger of breaking out at this hooligans brawl.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/35285384

Rugby is shite.

loddrik – Member

Rugby league is shite.

FIFY.

Rugby is shite.

but it’s still better than soccer…

Funny how all the faux outrage over Suarez doesn’t get applied to rugby.

Rugby league is shite, if you’re a fat and unfit union prop forward

😉

bombjack – Member
Rugby league is shite, if you’re a fat and unfit union prop forward

How’d you know? 😉

Funny how all the faux outrage over Suarez doesn’t get applied to rugby.

Might be a bit different if this was caught on camera in a world cup match, and it had happened a few times before!!

But he should get a lengthy ban if proved guilty. the report doesn’t say what happened though, if he was at the bottom of a ruck and someone was sticking a hand in his face, an he was worried about his eyes……..

I’m glad that faux outrage doesn’t get applied to rugby. Generally, you’ll find that most fans and commentators (pundits, ex-players, journos etc) are pretty outraged (if we’re going to insist on the term) when there’s a biting incident, gouging, blatant stamping etc. But rugby doesn’t have anywhere near the media blanket coverage that football has, so we don’t get equivalent levels of public outrage. We’ve made the point countless times here on various threads, but football survives on the pantomime villains, the refereeing errors, the managerial sackings etc etc.

(This is not in any way a defence of anybody blatantly injuring a fellow pro btw. I think anything like that, including career threatening challenges in football, as opposed to say, a bite, is pretty disgusting and players should be heavily punished. I say this as a fan of both sports.)

Rugby is shite.

No, actually it really isn’t.
It teaches thousands of kids teamwork, discipline, respect, fitness, enjoyment, controlled aggression etc etc.
A few incidents in a professional match are going to happen, but to dismiss the whole sport? That is shite (and moronic.)

Bad day on the juice maybe?
He will get a lengthy ban I’m sure. I’ve not seen the footage did he just run up and take a nibble or are we talking pinned under a prop with his knee in his groin to make him react.

It teaches thousands of kids teamwork, discipline, respect, fitness, enjoyment, controlled aggression etc etc.
A few incidents in a professional match are going to happen, but to dismiss the whole sport? That is shite (and moronic.)

Dez B

Fully agree ^

But rugby doesn’t have anywhere near the media blanket coverage that football has, so we don’t get equivalent levels of public outrage. We’ve made the point countless times here on various threads, but football survives on the pantomime villains, the refereeing errors, the managerial sackings etc etc.

Whilst I appreciate you are trying to be balanced [ as I am ] is everything that is popular and media covered not dealt with in the same way football is. Its a symptom of what media saturation coverage does rather than the sport per se

All sports have folks who do bad things and when they do they need to eb sanctioned [ or helped] appropriately as required.

No sport is bad

Premier League Football and it’s overseas equivalent is just Soap Opera. Speaking as a lapsed Weegie, I used to love football but the seriousness with which people “adopt” a team these days and support ManC ManU, Chelsea, Barca etc etc is not what I grew up with. So I just can’t be arsed anymore with all the pretence of history and community culture, the tacit acceptance of ridiculous behavior and cheating is wrong IMO.

Rugby on the other hand has a code of ethics, mostly unwritten, which allows for appreciation of the other team; win, lose or draw. People who support Saracens don’t “hate” Harlequins or London Scottish they support the sport and chose a side.

Rugby is not a better game however, again IMO, but it is more honorable and so when the cheats and miscreants are called out they get punished, footballers don’t.

Funny how Duncan Ferguson is charged by the police for an on-field incident and rugby players knock seven bells out of each other on a weekly basis.

but it is more honorable and so when the cheats and miscreants are called out they get punished

😆

‘Never trust a man who defines himself by the shape of his balls, or how many other men he chooses to bathe with’

Whilst I appreciate you are trying to be balanced [ as I am ] is everything that is popular and media covered not dealt with in the same way football is. Its a symptom of what media saturation coverage does rather than the sport per se

Oh I don’t know. There are plenty of changes that could be made to the officiating of the game that could calm down the coffee machine/water fountain/pub on a saturday evening outrage. It’s funny how the game seems so slow to adopt them. It’s most likely become a symbiotic relationship where the pantomime feeds the media feeds the outrage and on we go. Of course the sport wasn’t quite such a pantomime pre-sky and pre FIFA corruption but it is what it is now and there doesn’t seem to be a will amongst the administrators to change it.

Due to the physicality of rugby, there are on-pitch incidents which, unfortunately, are missed until after the game. Usage of the TMO has helped, but the game would be reduced to NFL style plays & advertisements if every exchange had to be stopped and examined. However, plenty of incidents are now half-spotted by the ref, then TMO’d and the punishment handed out there and then. Plenty more are dealt with retrospectively by citing commissions. IMO, football has a long way to come to match rugby when it comes to retrospectively punishing players for dangerous tackles and/or deliberate foul play. It could easily calm some outrage by allowing referees to review offsides (leading to goals be they disallowed or not) and penalty decisions for a start.

Do I think rugby has eliminated dangerous play? No. Is it more open to change in order to do this, and look after player welfare wrt things like concussion protocols? Yes. Is there a more ethical code of behaviour encouraged from the ground up? Well, go to an under 9/11/13/whatever game in each sport on a Sunday morning and tell us.

Rugby on the other hand has a code of ethics, mostly unwritten, which allows for appreciation of the other team; win, lose or draw.

Not forgetting incidents like this and blood gate – the ref running from the pitch in the world cup- all sports have cheats so let’s not do this ours is ace your is shit they both have [ differing issues]

@ DD much of what you say is true but Rugby needs that is there is the very real danger of serious injury in the sport[ not a dig] so it has to be done in a more calm way

I dont disagree re the ref I learnt to not argue with the ref or abuse them – do Rugby ones makes the howlers that footy ones do though?

Genuine question say like when the goal caroll let in was missed?

This is what happens where you swear at a ref in our game.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/22674429

The football eq? All part of the game.
Most of these threads,and they do pop up on occasion, are fueled by jealousy.

do Rugby ones makes the howlers that footy ones do though?

They make some pretty big mistakes – you only have to read some of the whinging about the officiating in the Pro12. A welsh side even made a video dossier of what they felt was bad officiating during their first loss of the season (They’d been on a good streak and, I dunno, some might say they were a bit sore about it, but I digress…) and sent it to the league organisers 😆

Generally though, and this is by no means 100%, tries that look dodgy can now be taken back a few phases (not just over the line) for offsides, forward passes, knock-ons etc so the kind of mistakes that lose a team a game are less common. IMO, as soon as the game and players sped up (and bulked up) to the point where one man couldn’t spot everything that was going on, the sport allowed video replays to be used. It was one of the best changes in rugby.

Not forgetting incidents like this and blood gate – the ref running from the pitch in the world cup

I would suggest that the amount of times you’ve mentioned bloodgate shows that stuff like this is exceptional rather than commonplace. As is the ref running from the pitch. And many would say that was a complete over-reaction on Joubert’s part. I dunno though, I wasn’t there.

DezB – Member

Rugby is shite.

No, actually it really isn’t.
It teaches thousands of kids teamwork, discipline, respect, fitness, enjoyment, controlled aggression etc etc.
A few incidents in a professional match are going to happen, but to dismiss the whole sport? That is shite (and moronic.)

It is a shame that this is not carried on into adult life then, When I was younger the local rugby teams roamed town in gangs wanting to fight anybody and everybody.

When I was younger the local rugby teams roamed town in gangs wanting to fight anybody and everybody.

Wow. That certainly wasn’t the case anywhere near where I’ve lived. However the local city had a quite well known football crowd. 657 Crew I believe they were called. 😆

I would suggest that the amount of times you’ve mentioned bloodgate shows that stuff like this is exceptional rather than commonplace

Quite possibly as you know I dont follow rugby so I would not know

I do agree that video ref is the way to go as sometimes some of the mistakes refs makes are shocking. Pretty much all sports have embraced technology now for the reasons you mention

As for which fans behave best

IME you did not really want to be in the pub when the rubgy team/squad were there or when the footy fans were in. Though I generalise massively.

As for which fans behave best

The difference couldn’t be more stark. As a Scouser I used to watch Liverpool when I was growing up but was never a committed supporter. Even as boy the atmosphere was toxic and violence never far away even between supporters of the same team! I lost interest and have never taken my now 17 yr old son to Anfield or Goodison but around 6 years ago I took him to see Sale Sharks when we got free tickets.
I can count on the fingers of one hand the home games we have missed since that first visit and taking him to home games is fantastic as he is a keen supporter. The AJ doesnt have large crowds unfortunately but the atmosphere is friendly without ever a threat of (off the pitch) violence. The two dont compare.

cockwomble – Member

Rugby is shite.

My 11 y/o plays for the local rugby league team. My mate’s 11 y/o plays for the local football team. I know where I see more cheating, foul-mouthed parents, players talking back to the ref and feigning injury. Clue: it’s not at the rugby. Wonder where they get their inspiration from.

When I was younger the local rugby teams roamed town in gangs wanting to fight anybody and everybody.

Born in Wigan, lived in Warrington and St. Helens. Never seen any evidence of local rugby teams scouting for fights. Where did you live?

Even as boy the atmosphere was toxic and violence never far away even between supporters of the same team! I

The violence associated with football is largely a thing of the past and you could safely take your child though he may learn some new swear words.

DD – genuine question – Has professionalism led to a decline in rugby behaviour? I was just wondering if that it was professionalism rather than the sport that was a factor as I do tend to agree rugby is not as tarred as football is. Not sure that scale – ie popularity is also a factor but really no way of testing that.

Coyote – Bath in the late 80’s/early 90’s.

Groups of rugby teams in blazers constantly causing trouble in town. I am not saying this was a national trend. Football violence was generally amongst rival fans, the lads we used to encounter were fairly indiscriminate.

I have also known someone who has been beaten up by one of the professional players in the last few years.

I am not anti-rugby (I occasionally watch Bristol) but I sometimes think it is made out to be whiter than white.

Bath had a culture of cocaine use recently and we have not even talked about non-recreational drugs within the sport.

My enmity towards Rugby Union stems from being forced to watch Rugby Special on sunday afternoons in the 70s. It was always foggy with one team in black and the other in white, so you only got half the action. The aim of the game seemed to be to kick the ball out of play and stand around a bit.
Also, Thunderbirds was on the other side…

cockwomble – Member

Only good bit of this thread.

When I was younger the local rugby teams roamed town in gangs wanting to fight anybody and everybody.

funny in the rest of the country most places were locked down and swamped with riot police every time a football match was on

Bath had a culture of cocaine use recently and we have not even talked about non-recreational drugs within the sport.

Well…if one player testing positive and one retiring and refusing a test is a culture…Then hell yes,Bath; chopping out lines in the dressing room right enough! It’s a surprise that we didn’t hear much more about these gangs of rugby players roaming the streets,or your mate being beaten up by a pro.

Both Care and Cipriani were binned by England for DD,but I bet that’s just the tip of the iceberg though? Sitting round doing shots,daring each other to go for a drive,all part of a drink driving culture in the England side.

Well…if one player testing positive and one retiring and refusing a test is a culture…Then hell yes,Bath; chopping out lines in the dressing room right enough!

Three players resigned a couple of months after that surrounded by similar allegations, have a search online. Cocaine leaves the body within 48 hrs so drug testing for it by traditional methods is quite difficult.

It’s a surprise that we didn’t hear much more about these gangs of rugby players roaming the streets

Why would you? Fights in any town/city on a Saturday are a fact of life, very few get reported in the press. Perhaps my original terminology was slightly misleading. When I say ‘gangs’ I mean groups of say up to ten 17-20 year olds in club blazers. They were always wanting to fight anyone!

,or your mate being beaten up by a pro.

Was reported at the time.

Both Care and Cipriani were binned by England for DD,but I bet that’s just the tip of the iceberg though? Sitting round doing shots,daring each other to go for a drive,all part of a drink driving culture in the England side.

Two Bath players had a punch up in a bar in Bath not too long ago, not sure if that got reported nationally. There was an incident in a taxi rank within the last five years, did you hear about that?

I will go back to my original point that yes, rugby teaches kids all of the disciplines above and it is a good game but, it is a shame that these values are not taken into adulthood.

Most people try to defend all of the incidents above by saying football players/fans…. etc. Rugby has its own problems, let’s not pretend otherwise. Some people think the game is played by saints who live like saints. I am not defending football by the way, I agree with everything everyone has said about the game!

Some of my references are a bit vague but look it up online yourself

No,you are the one casting out stories,why don’t you provide substance to them.And a incident at a taxi rank in the last 5 years involving rugby players eh? God’s teeth,Im scared to leave the house!

DO you promise to misrepresent the evidence and take the piss if they do bother 😉

All sports – in fact anything with people involved- will have some of the issues wider society faces.

The interesting one would be how widespread PED’s are in both sports.

Maybe……!!

PEDs are a problem in rugby, probably the same in football but fewer seem to get caught (and would probably be endurance based rather than strength based).