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Rugby player winds up opponent...!! Escapes ban...!! Shock-horror...!!


Jeezus, get a grip. I was called all sorts of things when I played rugby for my university women's team. If I went squinnying to the rugby authorities every time somebody called me a lesbian / lezza / dyke / rug muncher / queer or any of the hundred and one other things I was called (you wouldn't believe how inventive women can be) I would have spent all my life with a trail of salty tears trickling down my cheeks and grizzling through the night every time somebody didn't get a ban for it.

If the alleged Gypsy Boy can't handle it he should go and do something more commensurate with his sensitivities. Collect stamps or watch Disney movies or something.

Down here in Kernow, the biggest insult one of our players can throw at an opponent is to call him an Englishman. And believe me, they mean the word as a pejorative. I've yet to see anybody from the other (wrong) side of the Tamar making a big issue over it.


Yes, I know the rule is there to eradicate racist language in the sport and where genuinely malicious racist language occurs then fine..... hit the offender.

But honestly........ "Gypsy Boy"....? being used as a wind-up taunt at an opponent who goes out of his way to publicly big up his "heritage"...?

I used to have a rainbow flag sticker on my sport bag and sometimes that might be seen by opponents when we arrived at a ground for a match. That's probably why some opponents attempted to use homophobic baiting as a means of winding me up. It didn't work and I sure didn't run away to the changing rooms crying about it.

This was a frivolous complaint by the WRU and was, in my opinion, properly dismissed as such (but with much more diplomatic language than I would have used).

If English players complained every time a Welsh player called them "English Bastards", disciplinary committees would be sitting late into the night for weeks after every match.

Eddie Jones is not allowing this to be a distraction from England's preparation for the Grand Slam match on Saturday. He's an Australian and knows a thing or two about wind-ups..... and how to treat them with the big pinch of salt they deserve.

Cool the jets there ( ) Gatland and Lee had no problems with it after the game as far as I'm aware and I don't think I've seen any Welsh player or member of management calling for a ban or anything

I'm pretty sure "Gypsy Boy" is actually lee's nickname in the squad

You realise that you're contradicting yourself here, right? You either want to eradicate racist language or you don't - how would you ever determine "genuinely malicious"? As if someone's going to walk into a citing hearing and admit that!

I also don't see what someone "bigging up their heritage" has to do with anything, or why you've put heritage in quotation marks.

I'm not going to quote your entire post but I don't know where you're getting from that he "ran away crying" or that he "can't handle it". Unless you've got access to his tear stained diary

(as a fellow woman's rugby player I agree with the inventiveness of their insults! I've never been called so many variations on the C word! )

Hey I'm a Wasps as well but we currently have great cover for him if he got a match. Normally I'm happy to keep him, but McIntyre has been outstanding recently.

Wonder what Eddie Jones' reaction would be if someone called him a turnip headed convict?

World Rugby not happy..

http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/35837685

The thing is is was captured on a live broadcast, so the authorities have to do something, even if perceived as going through the motions.
Given that Marler apologised at halftime, he realised he had over stepped the mark, even if you consider it frivolous.

World rugby looking into the 6nations committee decision means this has now become a bigger issue than simply what was said on the field.Does nothing to dispel the notion said by Will Carling over 20 years ago, that rugby is run by '57 old farts'. In some respects, the professional game still hasn't got rid of the blazer wearing gravy train that governs it.

Exactly, he realised, apologised, the man accepted the apology and everyone moved on... the internet is just full of people begging to find offense in things.

It doesn't help when the WRU decide to stick their oar in, despite both player and coach saying there's no issue.

That's just Eddie's distraction technique from the pressure on his team this weekend in going for the Grandslam. Like the comments about Wales being scrum cheats, before Dan Cole got away with pulling it down most of last Saturday afternoon

He's never liked Wales though, we got him the sack as Aussie coach back in 2005 when they lost his last game against us for the first time in about 20 years

Wales U20s win the Grand Slam for their first championship at this level. Exciting group of players many of which will no doubt feature highly at this summer's U20 World Championship. One or two may even be on the plane to Waikato.

Wales 13-0 Italy after 21mins.
Early Webb try shouldn't have stood as about four of our side were offside in front of a kicker from an up n under just before. Webb played to the whistle though and continued his excellent international try scoring form.
Yet again though, another poor ref call in this tournament.

A training session for Wales

27-0

If only they had been this aggressive the whole match last week.....

Two more converted tries in quick succession.
27-0 after 34mins.
Taken a while for Wales to warm up but when are Italy going to improve as a 6nations team?

46-7

All too easy for Wales as expected

Touch judge runs into the post

62mins and Italy get their second try to bring it back to 46-12.
Some fine attacking play gets the deserved score but Sean Edwards won't be happy about conceding.

50 up for Wales

53-14 incoming

67-14 final score

And that's 2nd place secure, thoughts now turn to New Zealand in the summer

67-14 is the final score.
Good end to the tournament for Wales but a disappointing campaign overall.
What do you say about Italy, injury ravaged this 6nations but need more quality and to develop better depth.

George North is still only 23, good lord!!

Not sure I believe the narrative that the All Blacks will roll over now Mcaw,Carter and Nonu have retired.

We'll have to be a lot better than at this tournament to cause them any trouble.

Game just been lit up by Stuart Hogg with exceptional pace for try in Dublin.

Scotland lead 9-10 against Ireland, 24mins.

Scotland can win this

Very bad tempered game, it's not often you see so much niggle in a 6 Nations match......not very sporting