But they do feign injury, which goes against your point that they don’t. This was far worse than any footballer throwing themselves to the floor as in it was planned & executed from up top & had nothing to do with a petulant turd throwing himself on the floor. It was premeditated cheating. I like rugby, it’s a great watch. I used to play until I reached around 14 at which point I switched to football. Do they go in hard? Yes. Do they respect the ref? In most parts yes. Do they cheat? Yes. Do they feign injury? Yes. Do they act petulantly on the pitch? Yes. Don’t make it out to be holier than thou because it’s not. It’s a professional sport & they will try to win however they can.
It was, as I wrote cheating. But not to win a penalty or get a player sent off. It wasn't feigning injury by clashing your face when it hasn't been touched. It was to manipulate substitutions.
It was feigning injury by not even clashing your face & using a blood capsule to make it appear authentic. They cheat, is there really a difference & discussion worth having as to which cheating is worse?
I agreed it was cheating. But it was to manipulate substitutions, not get an opponent booked or sent off or win a penalty. The fact someone has to go back 10 years to find an incident, for which all concerned were heavily punished, whilst you only need to watch a game of football anytime to see blatant feigning of injuries and diving says it all.
You said "they don't feign injury" yet they do & have. They also cheat in other ways, some quite cowardly. It goes back 10 years because it was the most publicised. Do you think it was a one off or they just got caught? Cheating is cheating & Rugby is just as bad as football at it albeit in different ways.
If it was just as bad you could counter every dive and feigning injury in a football match with one in a rugby one. But you can't so it isn't.
No matter how you dress it up footballers are embarrassing when they scream after a tackle and roll around on the floor, it must be the only sport in the world where people would voluntarily make themselves look weak and pathetic just to gain a slender advantage. As grown men they should be ashamed that they do it, in any other contact sport people would rather pretend they're not hurt even if they are instead of pretending to be hurt when they are not. That's not to say one form of cheating is better than another, nor does it mean people in other sports don't cheat but football has a unique style of cheating that's frustrating and makes you cringe when you see it. Man up, it really doesn't hurt that much and when it does try having a bit of dignity about it.
Who dressed it up? I don't believe anybody has. I believe it was also me who noted that cheating is cheating whatever way they do it. No matter how you dress it up Rugby players & club officials do cheat & do feign injury to gain an advantage. Rugby must be the only sport in the world where people would voluntarily make themselves look weak and bleedy and pathetic just to gain a slender advantage. In any other contact sport people would rather pretend they're not hurt even if they are instead of pretending to bleed and be hurt when they are not. Rugby has a unique form of cheating that makes me cringe every time I see it. Man up, it really doesn't hurt that much, unless it's a cowardly eye gouge. When it does occur try having a bit of dignity about it or at least opening your oval shaped eyes & admitting it does happen.
Whereabouts? I've not suggested footballers are not embarrassing in the way they go down. I've not suggested footballers don't try to influence the refs I've not suggested footballers don't feign injury. I've not suggested footballers don't attempt to cheat. You & your minority sport friend have said that rugby players don't feign injury. They do, at their worst in a far more cynical & contrived way. I'm not the one pretending it doesn't happen in the sport they follow. It happens in football & also in rugby. Rugby players cheat, football players cheat. That's professional sport. It's also now creeping (a fast creep) into cricket which is also ****. Rugby supporters in general make it out to be the tough man's game. If you call eye gouging & biting the tough man's game then crack on. At least us football supporters acknowledge there's soft ****s & cheats within the game. It appears to me there's always blinkers being worn by the rugby fraternity. Now carry on with your struggle & let me get my work done.
No one was saying there wasn't gamesmanship, or cheating, in rugby of either code. But we are talking about feigning injury when not touched, diving etc when not touched. My mate played union at a decent level when he was younger. I kept ribbng him about the blood capsule incident. Our local at the time showed union and football matches (and league when it was on). He said He would point out every time a football feigned an injury or dived when football was on and I could do the same for rugby matches of either code. Didn't take long for me to say fair enough, let's not bother.
You stepped back because you accepted they don't cheat as much? Shame on you. The single blood capsule incident trumped 100 matches worth of dives & rolling around injuries. I'm sure there were times it had occurred previously without it being caught on camera, obviously rugger supporters will claim it as a one off. They cheat, footballers cheat. I like both but can also appreciate the failings of both as I have no blinkers on. **** me I bet that hurt, don't forget "they don't feign injury"