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Is rugby being played in the right “spirit” or have the financial rewards made “winning whatever it takes” the only objective? A reader in the USA (Grant in Los Angeles) offers the following comments on the way that rugby is being played: “Is it THUGBY or rugby? Should players be permitted to cynically fall behind rucks and get slowly onto their feet, and run back hands in air - or should they be forced to lie flat on ground and permit play to go five feet before getting up again - or risk a yellow card? “What about running through rucks an tackling/obstructing players before they can get to the player on the ground? We saw Soialo get penalized in the last TriNations for clearing out De Villiers even though DV wasn’t in a ruck!” Grant says these aspects need to be addressed – and Rugbyredcard.com heartily agrees! With regard to the “spirit” in which the game is played, Grant refers to the furore over the recent India v Australia cricket match, in which the Indian captain Kumble made his accusation of unsporting play against the Aussies. The principles at issue are pretty much the same as those that need to be addressed in rugby, and it is worth reading the BBC’s Jonathan Agnew’s comments on the website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tms/2008/01/players_are_the_problem_not_um.shtml
Although it is all about cricket, the relevance to international rugby is inescapable and deserves attention. He says: “Anybody who finds themselves surprised by the events on India's tour of Australia must have been living on a different planet for the past five years. The unedifying drama unfolding in Sydney is the result of a number of issues which have been bubbling away beneath the surface with increasing intensity. They all exploded in a furious head as Australia single-mindedly homed in on their record-equalling 16th Test victory, without giving a damn about the consequences on the way.”
He goes on to congratulate Australia on their achievement (in the same way the ‘Boks were congratulated on winning the World Cup), and says: What a shame it is that the legacy of this fine team will be so tarnished by the ugly and offensive manner in which it plays the game – and has done for at least three years. This Australia team plays the game to win – there’s nothing wrong in that – but it has negated its responsibility to those who watch it and, more importantly, the next generation of cricketers who will inherit the battered sprit of cricket that Ponting’s team leaves in its trail. Cricket can be an aggressive sport, but it is the ball and the bat that should do the talking. The hostile, nasty and intimidating environment that the Australians create on the pitch is a key ingredient in unsettling an opponent. Little wonder that, sometimes, a volatile character lashes out in what he would perceive as self-defence, and what does it say of these "hard" men that they then go and report him to the umpire? They can give it, but can’t take it. Agnew warns that the decision to remove Steve Bucknor as a Test umpire is short-sighted, and – as with Darrell Hair’s dismissal by the Pakistan Cricket Board 18 months ago - the way was opened for powerful cricket teams to dispose of officials when a decision is made they do not like. Says Agnew: “How dare the game be held to ransom in this way.” And he concludes – with some telling pointers for rugby’s governing authorities: But the real fault lies with the players – and it is their behaviour, attitude and respect for the game and its traditions that need urgently to be addressed. Umpires will always make mistakes – just as the players do (although you wouldn’t believe it sometimes) and undermining their confidence by removing their most senior colleague in this way is unbelievably foolish. Cricket is truly at a crossroads. Administered these days by businessmen who have no feel for, or genuine love and understanding of the game, cricket is played purely for money, ego and power for those who control it. Goodness knows where it will end unless a stand is taken, and that action must be directed by all the countries at all of their players, and not the umpires, says Agnew.
Very sensible comments about another sport, but with considerable relevance and application to world rugby. bookmark this article at your favourite social site                              
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