"The men's Australian rugby sevens team has been reprimanded and several players compelled to undertake alcohol counselling as a result of the investigation into drunken behaviour on their return flight home from the Olympic games"
Already reports that funding could be withdrawn, or curtailed for Sevens Rugby
I think RSVP.ie might need a new sub editor.
Complete misreading of the post,
Rugby championship is on Sky as normal,
What channel is the Rugby Championship on this year? Is it available in Ireland and UK?
Yup. Situation is a total mess, but he's still an idiot for sending those comments and deservedly gone.
Is the situation he's commenting on related to the coach of the women's 7s team? From what I had read it's all a bit off a mess. Players accused him of abusive behavior, an investigation cleared him. Then you have other players saying it was actually players who were abusive.
I think we always knew he was a POS....he's just let the whole world know now...
I see Jamie Cudmore has been found out.
Good podcast by RTE on the 1981 Ireland tour to South Africa.
It's called Crossing The Line
https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/documentary-on-one-podcast/id107923803
Quade Cooper... remember him?!
He's back in the Aussie squad for the Bledisloe Cup 4 years after his last international appearance
"even his apology is stupid, he should have said clearly that he didn’t realise he was half Filipino and thought it was fake and left it at that."
Absolutely, had to go all in on the 'fool rather than knave' defence'
Many have been asking that question for years. He's always tried to be witty in a derogatory way. Being the big man by demeaning and name calling. I actually don't believe he meant to be racist. But as I said above, you can only play that schtick for so long before you say the wrong thing about the wrong person or at the wrong time. If he's happy to play at that game though he needs to accept the consequences of it.
If that’s his defence; then the simple rebuttal is:
His job is rugby, to be unaware of a players background but to throw out a comment like that anyway shows up a seriously unprofessional level of ignorance.
if that’s his defence - then it begs the question of how he was in the job to begin with
I think I may have seen the most Internet take on racism yet here. If he didn't know there was a racial difference he was still being racist. How can someone be racist without being aware of their being a race thing to be racist about?
Franno said a(nother) dumb thing. He's said so many at this stage that they were always bound to catch up with him eventually. This is what happens when you spout crap as a rule. Eventually you'll say the wrong thing about the wrong person.
I dont think he intended to mock anyone's actual skin colour, but thats what he ended up doing and paid the price.
If not being ignorant is the bar then a lot of analysts would be out of a job. Stringer didn't seem to know the rules around offside had changed when they were debating that Cooney try against Leinster last season.
I’m not defending him or making excuses for him; if he knew of Smith’s parentage it’s racist, if he didn’t it’s incompetent, lazy and kinda nasty. But there is a difference in those positions.
I’m no fan of Francis and ultimately he is the only one who’ll know what he meant (and I’m not even sure he deserves the benefit of the doubt given his history), but intent matters.
Fine. Go ahead and make excuses for someone mocking a mixed-race man's skin colour because he couldn't be bothered his arse to read the first line of Marcus Smith's wikipedia page.
Ignorance isn't a defence, but as I've said you do you.
It wasn't even an apology. It was the 'sorry if you were offended' faux-apology. Mug stuff.
“Doesn't matter what the intention was.” - I couldn’t disagree more with this tbh.
Yet again not engaging in what I'm saying and making up arguments in your head. Take a step back and read what I actually wrote - it will help.
Funny how everyone completely ignored his full comment,
he said
”A HARLEQUINS OUT-HALF, with a David beckham haircut and an Oompa Loompa tan, YOU JUST COULDN’T THROW HIM IN.”
he basically wrote him off because he played for Harlequins, but I’d bet money he actually doesn’t know that they won the league this season.
The rest of it was just a pure ignorant comment, he probably never saw him play, and he obviously thought it was a fake or sunbed tan, à la Gavin Henson or Donncha O’Callaghan.
He said in his apology it was interpreted differently to what he meant, which was about “How backs turn themselves out”, I believe it was just a dumb ignorant comment, rather than a racist comment,
but if he doesn’t know Marcus Smith’s RUGBY background, that he is a highly rated precocious talent that achieved a lot of success with England underage, and has had involvements with the senior English squads since he broke through to play Senior for Harlequins at only 18, (22 now) and that he was the out-half that guided Harlequins to a league win as the underdogs, (I think he stood out in the semi-final miracle comeback as well), and played outstandingly well for England only a few weeks ago, he has no business commenting on rugby as a paid rugby “analyst”.
even his apology is stupid, he should have said clearly that he didn’t realise he was half Filipino and thought it was fake and left it at that.
FWIW, his haircut is ridiculous, it must be a hindrance having hair flopping around your field of vision, particularly at out-half where you need to see everything and can’t afford to make handling errors too often.
Warren Gatland saying BOD was the best player he ever coached with the Lions.
Me debate in good faith?
All you have done is say that Neil Francis thought Marcus Smith was white as if that makes a racist remark ok.
You have ignored everything that has been said to you and I waste all my time spelling it out to you because you're clearly too ignorant to understand why Neil Francis' remarks were racist, and your response is that I'm not debating in good faith.
Absolute time-waster. You've no defence so you deflect and distract. The usual hallmarks for someone who has no leg to stand on.
Absolutely gas. Now you're also insisting on bad faith readings of what I'm saying. I haven't defended Neil Francis and I'd appreciate if you wouldn't pretend I have. Whenever you're ready to debate in good faith, I'm here. Until then, enjoy getting in a froth due to bad faith takes.
Couldn't happen to a nicer fella, from the times listening to him on the last word the smugness was dripping of him.
Doesn't matter what the intention was. It ended with a white man mocking a mixed-race man because of his skin colour.
That is racism. Clear cut racism. Just because he didn't know he was mixed race is no excuse. Fact is Marcus Smith is mixed race and he was mocked because of his skin colour.
Would you go to Marcus Smith and tell him that it wasn't a racist remark? Bundee Aki has tweeted about it. Go tell him he's wrong.
Seriously, making excuses for the stupidity of Neil Francis is boring as hell. "Sure he didn't know he was mixed race" - well why didn't he make sure of that before mocking his skin colour then?
Neil Francis is in this position because he mocked a mixed race man's skin colour. It's his own fault. He could have avoided all of this by simply reading the first line on Marcus Smith's Wikipedia page:
"Marcus Sebastian Smith (born 14 February 1999) is a Philippines-born English professional rugby union player, currently playing for the Gallagher Premiership side Harlequins."
But he couldn't be bothered his arse because he wanted to be funny. Instead, he just mocked the skin colour of a mixed race man. And you're here defending him. Good on you and stick to those principles that it wasn't a racist remark.
Something that's pointless is calling someone racist when they clearly weren't in that particular instance. It's like those lads on Twitter that call any criticism of Israel anti-semitism - the weaponisation of antisemitism weakens genuine antisemitism. Nail him for actual racist and homophobic comments he's made, not bad faith takes on unfunny gags.
I read that the first time you said it. It was a pointless remark then and it's still a pointless remark.
If you're going to mock someone's skin colour you better be sure you know what the story is. If you don't then you deserve everything you get.
Francis made a lazy diatribe like he regularly does. He's been pushing the line for a long time and now he's crossed it. All because of his own lazyness.
He was playing on the 'softie backs' trope which is tired and boring. I'd guarantee he didn't know Smith was half filipino.
Maybe he should be sure of it before shooting his mouth off about his skin colour then, shouldn't he?
Ignorance is no defence. It's very easy to find out something like that.
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