Entertainment For Lively Minds
Two wrongs make... well, two wrongs.
Wales coach Warren Gatland has admitted considering cheating after Sam Warburton was red-carded. He'd have faked an injury to the replacement prop which would have lead, for safety reasons, to uncontested scrums. (Prop is a highly specialist position and if you can't play with two specialist props on the pitch, it's uncontested scrums.) This would have largely neutralised the 1 man advantage France had at scrum time.
My view is this would have been despicable. Whatever you think of the original red carding, responding by cheating is unacceptable. And before anyone gives the, 'it would be forgotten if they won' argument, in my mind Leicester didn't deserve one of their rugby European Cups because Neil Back acted in a cynical and cheating way to set up the winning score.
That said, I think Gatland is honest in admitting it crossed his mind but unbelievably naive to admit it while the tournament is still on. Would the Massive have cheated and could you live with your conscience if you did?
- More from Mark JF.
- Login or register to post comments
-
I think
I think he was only telling the truth, & it was a brave thing to admit to.
No offence was commited, & if anything, he should be commended for his honesty & for not cheating even though the stakes could barely have been higher.
Good man.
Of course not.
The point Gatland is trying to flag up is that this goes on all the time and nothing is done about it. He would be expected to have done it and not blabbed. Honest = naive? Not in my book.
Honest of him
Credit him for admitting the temptation was there. Further credit for not following it through.
David Millar's book opened my eyes to the realities of professional sport. There'll always be a temptation - or even an encouragement - to cheat in sport when there are livelihoods at stake.
Not naive in the slightest
Naive in any shape or manner is not a word I would associate with Gatland. He has been frank and open and admitted they considered it and even discussed it - but crucially - decided against it, because it would not have been right morally to do so.
To criticize a bloke for even considering an illegal action seems an odd approach to take. Presumably, it would be better to sweep it all under the carpet? That strikes me as deeply immoral. Perfidiousness allied to hypocrisy.
Good for Gatland. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone
I think it was extremely naive to say this
while the tournament was still running. It's going to deflect attention from the rugby, from the preparation and from the occasion. In my view, it would have been far better to complete the match schedule, go home and then talk about it afterwards - which would also have been the time to have a fuller debate about all the lessons learnt from the tournament.
"It's going to deflect attention from the rugby,
from the preparation and from the occasion"
I don't see why.
The media and others may try and sensationalise it but it seems to me a textbook definition of a non-event
- bloke thinks about doing something, decides not to.
No Lisa,
Your brother's right. Two wrongs DO make a right.
If he's punished ..
.. I want to see the 1978 game against the All Blacks awarded to Wales, after 2 guys dived out of a lineout to earn a last minute penalty.
At last proof that Wales were at one time the best in the world, even if we won't get a chance to go for that this weekend.
Punished?
If a bloke gets punished for what would effectively be a thought-crime we'll have a lot more to worry about than a game of rugby in 1978.
Reminds me of a story Mick McCarthy once told
He said that during a match, after the referee had given a dodgy penalty to the opposition, he said to the referee "What would you do if I called you a c*nt?". The referee said "I'd send you off".
Macca then asked "But what would you do if I thought you were a c*nt?", to which the referee replied "Well there's nothing I could do about it if you only thought it." So Macca said "Well then, I think you're a c*nt!"
Ha!
That's brilliant.
I love Mick McCarthy
He gives the best value manager interviews.
Point of order
Quittenton penalized Oliver, not Haden.
Dick Best
The former England coach seems to think Wales were naive for NOT cheating - he said to the BBC that they should have cheated. I think Gatland said it to emphasize how much the send off affected them.
I think he is naive
And stupid to say it at this time! Still not the first time Warren has put both his feet in his mouth and knowing his form probably not the last! Disappointing!
And now his comments are going to be reviewed by the IRB! I know some of the guys out there are amazed to say the least!
what's the issue here?
Bloke thinks about cheating and decides against it.
I have often thought about cheating on my wife with Cameron Diaz and decided, on reflection, to do nothing about those thoughts. Should I be hung, drawn and quartered too?
Indeed you should
Bring her to the next mingle! I need to have a quiet word with her!
Personally I wish he'd done it
if it had got us to the World Cup final.
Can't believe just how bitterly disappointed I've been all week.
Never felt so bad
After a rugby match
Actually felt that way
The week before! But I forgave you!
I would not do it.
and I'm impressed that Gatland didn't do it and explained what went through his mind. He has proved he's not a win at any cost cheat. Much respect.
Yes
The last week has stung me like no other as a Welsh rugby fan - We're not used to this kind of success, and I was upset by the way the final was taken away. All power to ol' Cement Head - he tells it like he thinks it, and shouldn't be punished for pointing out the dark arts of the sport he is NOT prepared to be involved with.
Do you Gwlad?
The Cement Head reference suggests you do. Please tell me you are not Phil BB in disguise....
Same
here. I've been in a bit of a mood all week after that game and I know I really should move on but I just can't find the motivation.
My hat is off to Gats though.
And Jon, Dai, Dave Holley.... keep the faith. We'll be back. The Australia game on Friday should be pretty interesting (is Paul Hogan reffing?) and the 6 Nations will be tremendous.
Well I guess
from that other thread you know my viewpoint - and I haven't changed it, but I agree the best thing is to move on....it's not going to change anything to brood on it.
I hope the next few years are going to be good, but Wales do have a habit of working hard through office politics to undermine previous successes.