Bradley Simpson

In the process of cleaning out some of my crap in storage I came across a great little book by Joseph Romanos called “We knocked The Bastard Off”. In it are a number of great Rugby quotes. Here are a few of my favorites:

You don’t look big enough to be a rugby player

The Queen when presenting former All Black David kirk with his MBE

We can get you a ticket if you’re short

All Black lock Murray Pierce invites the Queen to the Barbarians match at Twickerham in 1989

Obviously not getting a trial is very perplexing. It is hard to not be ranked in the top 10 locks in the country, and if that was the case, I wonder why the selectors had not talked to me about it.

Gary Whetton, All Black captain in 1991, after failing to make the 1992 All Black trials

I don’t see too many Bring Back Gary signs.

All Black selector Gary Thorburn when asked about reaction to Whetton’s omission. (Non-NZ residents should read the eighth paragraph on this wikipedia link for a reference to this joke)

The All Blacks came forth and conquered. The Aussies just came fourth

Banner at Eden park during the 1987 World Cup rugby final.

I asked them to make me an offer I couldn’t refuse and they did

All Black john Gallagher explains why he signed to play league for Leeds in 1990.

You’re f… joking.

All Black coach Alex Wyllie’s reaction when told Gallagher had switched to league

The weakest team New Zealand has ever had…weak in the scrums, weak on defence and lacking in pace sums up the team.

Former All Black hooker George Tyler writing in the New Zealand Herald about the 1924-25 New Zealand side about the leave for Britain. They returned unbeaten and have since become known as the Invincibles.

When Tony Woodcock punched an Irish player in The Irish Test match on the recent grand slam tour an interesting sequence of events unfolded that was to the detriment of Rugby.

The touch judge reported seeing Woodcock being held back by an opposing player – whom Woodcock, in a minor brain explosion it must be said, punched. Woodcock was subsequently yellow carded, Ireland awarded a penalty, and since Woodcock was “sighted” and risked being banned further. Thankfully he got off this charge.

All because an Irish player cheated.

It seems ludicrous to me that nothing comes of the Irish player who was committing a professional foul. No talking to or warning from the referee, no penalty, nothing.

In fact he was rewarded for his professional foul through the penalty his team received.

Is this really the lesson we want Rugby players to learn? ie If you can cheat to the point of annoying an opposing player of cheating also, then you will not be punched punished?

I think an ‘initiation rule’ where the player offending is penalised, rather than just the player reacting is a much better idea. A better outcome last month would have been to yellow card both players – the Irish for committing a professional foul, and Woodcock for punching, and then award a penalty to New Zealand as the Irish player was the first to offend – ie ‘initiate’.

This is one easy way you could strongly discourage negative play, especially ‘off the ball’.

…I also cynically wonder if the touchie would have intervened on the professional foul he viewed by the Irish player were it not for the punch?