The Head Slap

stepster

Does anybody else get irritated to see players slapping other players on the head when penalties are given away in a kind of gloating, goading way? Danny Care springs to mind when he earlier did it to Bernard Jackman. I find this unsportsmanlike and distasteful. Anyone else got thoughts on this? Don't get me wrong, I think Care had a great game today and may just have got himself on the plane this summer with that performance but that type of carry on just annoys me..

duckysauce

yep very annoying alright dont know how some of them dont get lamped

Fishtits

I agree, most unsporting.

In a sport where players take great pleasure in inflicting pain on their opposite numbers I think congratulatory slaps on the head following said players conceding penalties should be banned.

...OP, Google "Sledging" and get a grip, its not soccer FFS

funky penguin

Happened to Contepomi as well in the first half. Distasteful alright, but meh. We beat them.

Podge_irl

I've seen refs penalise it before for "unsportsmanlike conduct". Its petty and irritating.

zuroph

but lol, jackman deserved it. How the man is a pro rugby player never ceases to confuse me. So many crucial moment errors that it beggars belief. Im of the firm opinion he started out as a bad Keith Wood lookalike and it just spiralled from there, and he hasnt had the heart to own up to it yet.

EDIT: but if you want to speak of unsporting behavior, the "so long, farewell" jingle that harlequins played over the intercom at the sin binning was more disgusting, and an incitement. ERC should punish and ban that rubbish.

Stev_o

zuroph wrote: »

but lol, jackman deserved it. How the man is a pro rugby player never ceases to confuse me. So many crucial moment errors that it beggars belief. Im of the firm opinion he started out as a bad Keith Wood lookalike and it just spiralled from there, and he hasnt had the heart to own up to it yet.

EDIT: but if you want to speak of unsporting behavior, the "so long, farewell" jingle that harlequins played over the intercom at the sin binning was more disgusting, and an incitement. ERC should punish and ban that rubbish.

Iv seen worst tbh nothing compares to a whole stadium packed to the rafters booing one player.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz-iRTR_HT0

thomond2006

zuroph wrote: »

EDIT: but if you want to speak of unsporting behavior, the "so long, farewell" jingle that harlequins played over the intercom at the sin binning was more disgusting, and an incitement. ERC should punish and ban that rubbish.

+1. We don't want rugby to turn cynical.

funky penguin

I remember being at the ML match in teh RDS vs Cardiff (the one where FC score 7 from 7 to win it! ).

There was a try that the blues scored that most thought should have been disallowed because D'Arcy was obstructed.

Cue the whole stadium booing as the conversion was taken.

zuroph

Stev_o wrote: »

Iv seen worst tbh nothing compares to a whole stadium packed to the rafters booing one player.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz-iRTR_HT0

looks rough, but if he threw a first punch deserved. And its up to the fans what they want to do, but I dont think the stadium officials should be encouraging fans to abuse players leaving pitch.

itsallaboutheL

The Munster fans singing Black Velvet Band after Bowes knock on late in the game was a bit harsh.......







i may have been involved in it!! but in hindsight it was bad form. hilarious none the less

suppafly

zuroph wrote: »

EDIT: but if you want to speak of unsporting behavior, the "so long, farewell" jingle that harlequins played over the intercom at the sin binning was more disgusting, and an incitement. ERC should punish and ban that rubbish.

That is really bad. It one thing for the crowd to boo and sing "cheerio, cheero" but for the stadium to play somehting like that over of the speakers is really wrong and should definetely not be allowed. Was that in the leinster match today?

stepster

suppafly wrote: »

That is really bad. It one thing for the crowd to boo and sing "cheerio, cheero" but for the stadium to play somehting like that over of the speakers is really wrong and should definetely not be allowed. Was that in the leinster match today?

Certainly was, and should be stopped sooner rather than later

ALH-06

stepster wrote: »

Does anybody else get irritated to see players slapping other players on the head when penalties are given away in a kind of gloating, goading way? Danny Care springs to mind when he earlier did it to Bernard Jackman. I find this unsportsmanlike and distasteful. Anyone else got thoughts on this? Don't get me wrong, I think Care had a great game today and may just have got himself on the plane this summer with that performance but that type of carry on just annoys me..

Danny Care's a little knacker! But remember O'Callaghan was penalised for the exact same thing in the Ireland-Wales match this year? There's a lot of players at it!

pdelahunty

Munster and Leinster do it as much as any other team but it should be stopped

daveharnett

Good post OP. It p***ed me off yesterday too. I'll applaud any ref who penalises it.

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

The Munster fans singing Black Velvet Band after Bowes knock on late in the game was a bit harsh.......

i may have been involved in it!! but in hindsight it was bad form. hilarious none the less

I think bowe saw the funny side of it too.

7mountpleasant

Having in lived in england for a fair while I reckon it has a lot to do with the fact that a lot of the people who play rugby also play cricket (phill vickery turns out for a village cricket team near enough where I used to live on occassion I believe) and sledging is just that much more common and acceptable that i think that it is not considered that much of a bigger deal, look at the amazement of the englsih commentators that the fans keep silent for kickers at thomond. Harry Ellis used to be always at it but seems to have calmed down a lot

Noopti

This head slapping/pat on the back nonsense seems to be happening a lot more of late. :mad:

Refs should clamp down on it.

Tomtom364

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

The Munster fans singing Black Velvet Band after Bowes knock on late in the game was a bit harsh.......







i may have been involved in it!! but in hindsight it was bad form. hilarious none the less

ah no that wasnt harsh. it was a joke. sure he saluted the crowd and was grinning.

also, the singing started much before the entire stadium joined in and i think it started before he knocked the ball on.

as for the orignal post, the little slaps are just another part of winding players up. its fine. as long as it is light slaps and not wallops

Noopti

Tomtom364 wrote: »

as for the orignal post, the little slaps are just another part of winding players up. its fine. as long as it is light slaps and not wallops

I don't think running over to gloat and pat a player on the back/head after they make a mistake is fine. It is completely unsporting.

Micky Dolenz

What next, stop the lads talking/verbal abuse in a scrum?

It's all part of the game, on the odd occasion(:p) i make mistakes on the pitch a little goading often focuses the mind.

Noopti

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

What next, stop the lads talking/verbal abuse in a scrum?

It's all part of the game, on the odd occasion(:p) i make mistakes on the pitch a little goading often focuses the mind.

Sure, lets just allow each of the opposing team members to run up and give the player who made the mistake a little slap on the cheek, point, and laugh.

Look, everyone knows sledging occurs during games. However it is generally out of sight and only noticed by the participating players. However running up and sarcastically patting players on the back is a pretty new thing (the higher frequency nowadays is certainly new) and is not something I personally like to see in a game.

Trying to put someone off their game via traditional sledging is different to explicit/in your face gloating after the player has made the mistake and the two shouldn't be confused.

Gelio

Speaking about bad sportsmanship
Contepomis yellow:mad:

First time i've ever seen diving in rugby

Noopti

ajeffares wrote: »

Speaking about bad sportsmanship
Contepomis yellow:mad:

First time i've ever seen diving in rugby

I think I remember Flannery performing one of the most blatant dives I've ever seen.

Don't fully remember the incident, but I think someone pushed him and he fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes clutching his face. He then just got up and carried on when he either:

1. Realised there was no penalty coming
2. Realised what a tit he made of himself

Stev_o

Noopti wrote: »

I think I remember Flannery performing one of the most blatant dives I've ever seen.

Don't fully remember the incident, but I think someone pushed him and he fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes clutching his face. He then just got up and carried on when he either:

1. Realised there was no penalty coming
2. Realised what a tit he made of himself

There has been worse, que Justin Marshall wanting to be a footballer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGoSyxqmwKM

There was the video of Marius Joubert getting a tap on the heading and falling down rolling like he had been hit with a sledgehammer against Munster last year but alas it has been taken down.

Micky Dolenz

Stev_o wrote: »

There has been worse, que Justin Marshall wanting to be a footballer

.

:pac::pac:, thats class. Atleast he was open enough about it.

Eoin

Noopti wrote: »

I think I remember Flannery performing one of the most blatant dives I've ever seen.

Don't fully remember the incident, but I think someone pushed him and he fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes clutching his face. He then just got up and carried on when he either:

1. Realised there was no penalty coming
2. Realised what a tit he made of himself

Ireland v England I think - someone brushed their fingers across his face. Was very embarrassing to watch.

crisco10

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

What next, stop the lads talking/verbal abuse in a scrum?

It's all part of the game, on the odd occasion(:p) i make mistakes on the pitch a little goading often focuses the mind.

I agree a little bit of sledging is natural and part of the game. The worry would be that this head tapping would grow into a situation where you might have a repeat of the MArtin Keown/R Van Nistelrouy incident from a few years ago in the premiership..That was disgraceful the way Keown got so in Ruud's face after the peno miss. (for the record, I hate Ruud but nobody deserves that)

Noopti

eoin wrote: »

Ireland v England I think - someone brushed their fingers across his face. Was very embarrassing to watch.

Ah yeah, that was it! Think it could have been last year or was it at Croke 2 years ago?

Eoin

Noopti wrote: »

Ah yeah, that was it! Think it could have been last year or was it at Croke 2 years ago?

I think it was Croker - definitely not last year as I was stuck in an airport for the game and didn't see it.