Rugby World Cup

Burgess not in the team for England. What a great decision it was to bring him. Was never going to be ready

 

from my Welsh friends:

Have you been mis-sold England quarter final tickets?
If so call the claim line on 0800 101010

That's 0800 won nothing won nothing won nothing

 

Let's hope Ireland stuff the French and then NZ really hammer the French in the QF as they play such dull rugby. Even their football team is terribly dull and will not win Euro 2016 either!!

 

Why don't footballers have the same respect for referees as rugby players?

 

Why don't rugby fans ever ask why tennis players don't have the same respect for umpires as rugby players do for referees?

Their obsession with football and negative comparisons is genuinely the most tedious thing in sport.

 

actually, twas I, a football fan who asked the question. Is there an answer?

 

After a friend told me about it, I have just been reading about the "infamous battle of Nantes" between the All Blacks and France in 1986 and, particularly, about Wayne "Buck" Shelford and his injury. F***ing hell - hard man? I think you could say that. Remember - 1986 - he was an amateur! Imagine this happening now?

If ever there was one moment when Wayne "Buck" Shelford embedded his name forever into rugby's rich history, it was during the infamous "Battle of Nantes" in 1986.

Playing only his second Test for the All Blacks against a physically intimidating French side, Shelford found himself at the bottom of a rather aggressive ruck on 20 minutes.

An errant Les Bleus stud found its way to his groin, where it somehow managed to tear his scrotum, leaving one testicle hanging out.

This alone would leave most men screaming in agony and heading for the nearest hospital. But not Shelford.

He calmly instructed the physio to stitch him up.

The French public were gobsmacked as an over-eager pitchside cameraman filmed the stomach-turning surgery, and even more so when Shelford returned to the field and carried on playing.

"I was knocked out cold, lost a few teeth and had a few stitches down below. It's a game I still can't remember - I have no memory of it whatsoever.

"I had to watch a video to realise what the game was actually like. I don't even remember what the score was, I don't really want to either."

Just for the record, New Zealand lost 16-3. It was the only time Shelford was on the losing side during his distinguished international career, a result which he appropriately describes as a "faux pas".

 

Stoic...yes, but his not remembering the game clearly is an alarm bell. No one knocked out should play on...the player is no judge, it is for the medical staff to decide.

With apologies for being a misery guts about your story

 

I know, sorry, it's just a massive bone of contention for me. It's the same EVERY time there's an international rugby game - the refs, the diving, the fouls etc etc. It's so deeply bound in an insidious class issue I find it massively irritating. My stock answer now is, "it's two different sports, get over it".

 

No apology needed. Apart from the obvious (and I've not looked to see if he fathered children after this), my thoughts were that this was worrying. I played with a guy once who couldn't remember the second half after a whack to the head. We decided to take him down to QA after a few drinks when he was still (in his words) "feeling a bit off" and he spent the best part of a week in there being assessed. And that was late 80s, so I was surprised that Shelford wasn't looked at properly.

 

I know of a Portuguese chap who'd disagree with you

 

Wow, that is a great (if not a little queasy) sports story Dave. I love reading about these tough players who went further than what most people would consider competing. I posted this link back a while ago about the Aussie cricketer Dean Jones, who gave more than is reasonably required in a test match in India. It's worth a read http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/605597.html

 

England bt Uruguay 60-3. Would have been higher if Ford hadn't kept missing his kicks....I bet he would have scored with more of them if it mattered. Gave the crowd some fun.

 

He only missed 3! Farrell missed a couple before he went off, so he wasn't much better. Good performance all round from the Bath boys, plus the Exeter boys, plus Nick Easter.

 

I only saw 3 of his kicks...perhaps I shouldn't have watched.

 

But if they were penalties, that's another 9 points, taking England's tally to 69. Missing out on the chance of 69 is an error on anyone's part...

 

It's still a valid question, even if you're sick of hearing it. And the culture of deliberately misleading, then trying to intimidate referees, needs to be addressed imo.

 

Were conversions....which he would have made any other day. Could be having an off day, but still reckon he would have done better if we weren't romping home and it was an important game.

 

They know how to 'earn' penalties in rugby as well....the equivalent of leaving your leg trailing...it's just that it is regarded as part of the game of rugby and not gamesmanship. They also get fined and banned for deliberately injuring an opponent, including eye gouging, so people shouldn't get the idea they are whiter than white.

 

I'm sure that's all true; and probably more so in rugby union since the game became professional. But how often do you see players gathering round the ref trying to bully him into making a decision? And how often do you hear coaches blaming the ref after a defeat? For what ever reason, the total lack of respect for referees that is commonplace in football appears alien to both codes of rugby.