It's been a hell of a decade but rugby must ensure respect remains in 2020s - Andy Goode
It’s been a hell of a year for rugby on the pitch to cap off a decade where the game has grown significantly but if there’s one area we need to address in particular over the next 12 months it’s the issue of respect.
Of course, there have always been examples of individuals and teams overstepping the mark but the number of incidents reflecting badly on rugby that have occurred in the past few weeks alone is worrying for the sport.
It could be coincidence but it definitely looks like a trend and one that needs to be addressed if we are to be able to look back in another decade’s time and still be proud of rugby’s values.
Billy Vunipola telling Wayne Barnes he’s a “grown ass man” happened in the final game of 2019 and is exactly the kind of display of dissent that we want to eradicate or at least keep to an absolute minimum in 2020.
He was saved from a red card by his team-mate Jackson Wray who dragged him away but that sort of disrespect towards a referee shouldn’t be tolerated or we’ll see even more of it. I certainly think he should be getting a warning from Premiership Rugby for it.
That came hot on the heels of the incident between Munster’s doctor and Jamie George just a couple of weeks earlier. He has apologised and received news of his punishment on the final day of the year but we can’t have that conduct or language becoming more prevalent in the sport.
On Saturday Joe Marler replied to a comment on social media with language that we might not want our daughters or sons to read as well. It’s tricky being a rugby player in the public eye and I was subjected to more than my share of abuse but they’re role models now more than ever and do have a responsibility to act accordingly.
I want to be able to take my kids to rugby games and not worry about what they’re going to hear. We don’t want to have segregation of fans or have to sit in family only sections if we want to take our children with us.
We’re not at that stage yet but we’re already seeing things creep into the game that we might not want to…dissent, diving, waving imaginary cards and harassing referees and then there’s the salary cap.
Enough has been said about that in recent months but it’s another form of disrespect towards the other clubs, owners and the league in general.
The old adage about football being a gentlemen's game played by thugs and rugby being a thug's game played by gentlemen may be a bit clichéd but we need to make sure we do everything we can to make sure the values the game has become known for aren’t eroded over the course of the next decade.
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Spot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
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