Rugby Union in disarray over Owen Farrell decision
Some developments in the world of sport seem to defy logic, morality, decency and belief.
It is undeniable that – down through sporting history in such as track & field, professional boxing, Tour de France cycling, football, rugby in both the union and league codes, karate and wrestling, to cite but a few (and I say this advisedly since it might actually be easier and briefer to simply write “all sports” and then list the totally above-board few exceptions if one can find any(!) – the taking of performing-enhancing drugs has been rife.
Under the heading “seeking out every possible potential advantage”, ever since the days of Ancient Rome and gladiators fighting lions or each other, sporting participants have pushed to the edge of the wire (and possibly beyond) in the quest to prevail and/or win the greatest prizes of all.
In the context of which far too often in world sport conclusively-proven and/or strongly-suspected wrongful drug-taking in one form or another has been either turned a blind eye to, exonerated, explained away by the accused/guilty with the lamest and outrageous of excuses, not acted upon for lack of evidence and/or simply “swept under the carpet”.
Yesterday the sport of rugby union – which could never have claimed the title of “best administered of sports/games” simply because expediency, rather than high principle, has guided its every action and decision since the mid-19th Century – demonstrated this weakness yet again by reversing the red card (given on review) to the England fly half and captain Owen Farrell during last Saturday’s “warm up” international against Wales at Twickenham.
As a result, instead of serving a ban of at least two matches – and arguably it should have been several more given his long and consistent recidivist history of reckless/dangerous “tackles” – Farrell has had his sending-off reduced back to its original “yellow” card, a move which will allow him – if picked by Steve Borthwick the England head coach – to take a full part in England’s Rugby World Cup campaign starting next month.
Against the background of rugby union’s existential threat from the massive and worrying issue of early-onset dementia amongst former players – and the much stricter measures recently introduced regarding the medical assessment of head injuries – which took the game from requiring a doctor’s approval before allowing a player with potentially serious head-injury to return to the fray to a situation of “If in any doubt, get him/her off the pitch and then insist they take a break from physical contact for up to a month”, giving the England captain a reprieve of this natural for his latest “no arms” tackle collision is outrageous.
Regular readers will be aware that I am no fan at all of Sir Clive Woodward but on this occasion I agree with every word of his column on the incident and its outcome that appears today upon the website of the – DAILY MAIL
