Munster, celtic league, heineken cup, general and tag rugby thread 🐐

Sport
501

Just saw this, Neil Best has been banned for 18 weeks.

From www.breakingnews.ie

Ireland rugby international Neil Best has been banned for 18 weeks by the Rugby Football Union after admitting illegally making contact with the eye or eye area of Wasps’ James Haskell with his hand during a Guinness Premiership game on September 20.

After a two-and-a-half-hour hearing in London yesterday, attended by Best, the three-man RFU panel decided on further discussions this morning, prior to handing down their decision.

He cannot play again until January 28 next year, missing eight rounds of Premiership action, plus all of Northampton’s European Challenge Cup and EDF Energy Cup pool matches.

Best, capped 18 times by Ireland and a member of the 2007 World Cup squad, appeared before a three-man panel chaired by the RFU’s disciplinary officer, His Honour Judge Jeff Blackett.

Best had been cited by Premiership citing officer Ken Pattinson following Saints’ 24-20 victory over Wasps at Franklin’s Gardens.

Haskell gave evidence before the panel, confirming his written statement made after the game that the player (Best) “gratuitously commenced to gouge at (his) eye with increasing intensity”.

Haskell, a contender to captain England in their autumn Tests next month, said his vision became increasingly blurred, he suffered excruciating pain and felt physically sick because of soreness.

He was later taken to Northampton General Hospital, where an ophthalmologist diagnosed a corneal abrasion and prescribed antibiotic drops.

Photographs taken a day after the game showed significant swelling around Haskell’s eye, which was closed and bruised, with a one-centimetre scratch on his upper eyelid.

Best, whose Northampton team-mate Dylan Hartley received a six-month suspension for eye-gouging last year, told the panel he had acted recklessly, and not deliberately.

502

Best has been shit ofr about 18 months now… 18 weeks is a light suspension for that though, the fucking scumbag.

503

Couldnt agree. Best struggled in a shite Ulster side, but has started off fantastically well for the Saints this season and was one of their more impressive players.

Still, gouging is a shocking act, and irregardless of whether Best meant it, you have an obligation to respect and should due concern to another player when on the field of play.

18 weeks is a serious whack.

504

Best is 1 of the best (no pun intended) players Ireland have but has suffered from being part of a woeful Ulster setup for the last couple of years, anyone who saw him against Australia last year will agree that he is a fantastic flanker. Speaking to someone that is susposed to have the inside track (always plenty of them), it wasn’t Best that did it at all but another player who has a history of that tactic

505

[quote=“myboyblue”]
18 weeks is a serious whack.[/quote]

It’s not enough for that sort of cowardly act. Can you imagine if somebody intentionally tried to blind an opponent in any other sport

506

If it was shown that he deliberately gouged the player, I’d agree, but in this instance that was not the case.

As you’ll see from the rest of my post which you failed to quote, I already outlined my stance on gouging and the obligation players have to show due concern opponents on the field of play.

507

[quote=“myboyblue”]If it was shown that he deliberately gouged the player, I’d agree, but in this instance that was not the case.

As you’ll see from the rest of my post which you failed to quote, I already outlined my stance on gouging and the obligation players have to show due concern opponents on the field of play.[/quote]

I read the rest of your post and agree. 18 weeks is long suspension but not long enough for this type of infringement

508

Wilkinson to miss England’s autumn Tests after suffering a dislocated knee


Jonny Wilkinson looks set to miss England’s autumn internationals after dislocating his left knee last night.
He was forced off the field 25 minutes into Newcastle’s 39-23 Guinness Premiership
defeat at Gloucester.
Newcastle director of rugby Steve Bates said: ‘It is obviously disappointing
for Jonny to receive an injury just when he was back playing fantastic rugby,
but he has enormous strength of character and I am sure he will come back
stronger despite this blow.’

Sheer agony: Wilkinson winces in pain as he is helped from the field at Gloucester
More…Head, shoulders, knees and toes - the Wilkinson injury list is endless
EXCLUSIVE: Wilko reveals how he stays at the top of his game
Saints forward Best hit with 18-week ban

England begin their autumn Test programme at Twickenham in less than six weeks.
Wilkinson was set to contest the fly-half jersey with Leicester’s Toby Flood and fit-again Danny Cipriani against the Pacific Islands, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, the first Tests under new manager Martin Johnson.
Cipriani, who took over from Wilkinson in England’s number 10 jersey in the last game of this year’s Six Nations against Ireland, plays his first game for Wasps on Wednesday since recovering from a serious ankle injury in May.
The 20-year-old was not included in Johnson’s 32-man elite England squad in July, given that it was anticipated he would be sidelined until the new year, and was named in the Saxons squad instead.

But Johnson has the option of moving players into the elite squad in the event of injury or suspension.
Wilkinson missed three years of Test rugby after kicking England to World Cup glory in 2003.
World rugby’s highest-ever Test points scorer has suffered knee, arm, shoulder and kidney problems among a variety of ailments.
He has suffered medial ligament damage to his left knee twice before, against Perpignan in January 2005 and on his comeback against Harlequins in March 2005.
He returned to the international scene at the start of the 2007 Six Nations and helped guide England to an unexpected World Cup final place last October.
But he missed this summer’s tour to New Zealand to undergo shoulder surgery.

509

poor johnny…you think he would would just give it up at this stage…

510

Adidas won’t let him, he makes a fortune while he continues to play, he has a contract similar to Beckham, but if he was to quit the game due to injury he wouldn’t get that money, he’d only be insured for his club salary (afaik)

511

A dislocated knee sounds sore as fuck. His fearless nature on a rugby field put him in for a lot of bother. I remember talking to an Irish international once who said there was no way Wilkinson would last long if he continued to play and tackle like he did. Looks like he was right.

512

yeah thats his big fault (if you could call it that) i don’t think that he could go out on the field and not give it anything other than 100% and hit everything in his channel…has him fairly fucked now…a pity really…

513

There is no other outhalf that would put himself into those positions in world rugby, Dan Carter (the real 1, not the 1 here) plays in cotton wool by comparisson, the twat shouldn’t be even thinking about some of the tackles he goes for

514

yeah…don’t think you could ask him to go out and stand on the wing in defence either…he just wouldn’t have it…i wonder how good would he have become if he stayed injury free after the 2003 world cup…he was a special player then but would he have improved much more i wonder…

515

I think all the injuries have added to his legend to be honest, it was the English pack that won them the RWC, cause they were driving the oppostion backwards Jonnie had plenty of time to pick his spots cause there wasn’t any big lummix of a number 6,7 or 8 coming straight at him. Also, the fact that England’s game plan didn’t really involve the centers too much he became prone to getting clocked the odd time, playing for Leicester rather than Newcastle may have benfited him.

The again, he is an English rugby player that has more money that I will ever have and have a World Cup Medal so I’m not feeling too sorry for him

516

Dont forget lads, he’s was on one leg (or shoulder to be precise) in RWC 03, it was still some performance.

517

[quote=“Clareman”]I think all the injuries have added to his legend to be honest, it was the English pack that won them the RWC, cause they were driving the oppostion backwards Jonnie had plenty of time to pick his spots cause there wasn’t any big lummix of a number 6,7 or 8 coming straight at him. Also, the fact that England’s game plan didn’t really involve the centers too much he became prone to getting clocked the odd time, playing for Leicester rather than Newcastle may have benfited him.

The again, he is an English rugby player that has more money that I will ever have and have a World Cup Medal so I’m not feeling too sorry for him[/quote]

i would agree and disagree with that…sure the pack were superb and it is a hell of a lot easier to play behind a pack that is on the front foot than on the back foot but he was great at managing a game and finding breaks/kicking corners…

518

Finally trusting his own instincts
In this section
Staunton celebrates Wasps’ victory over Leicester Tigers at Welford Road last Friday night. Staunton, making his first start of the season, kicked five penalties, two drop goals and a conversion for a total of 23 points to help his club claim a badly-needed first victory of the campaign in the English Premiership. - (Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images).INTERVIEW JEREMY STAUNTON: John O’Sullivan talks to the talented former Garryowen and Munster outhalf who took the opportunity last Friday to show he can still deliver on the big stage

TONIGHT DANNY Cipriani will complete a remarkable rehabilitation from a fractured ankle dislocation sustained against Bath last May when he lines out against the same English west country team. The initial prognosis for the 20-year-old was that the horrendous injury would keep him sidelined until November. He has returned six weeks early.

Cipriani will play 40 minutes and then make way for Ireland’s Jeremy Staunton, the latter pencilled in to start Wasps’ third league match in eight days against Gloucester on Saturday.

Staunton is delighted to see the precociously gifted Cipriani recover from serious injury but he does add the good natured rider: “his recovery was a bit too swift for my liking”.

It’s undoubtedly inopportune for the 28-year-old former Garryowen and Munster player, now in his fourth season at Wasps. Having suffered confidence-wise during some of that spell and seeing it affect his game, Staunton approached pre-season training determined to be true to himself, trusting his instincts on the pitch rather than trying to slavishly follow a coaching blueprint.

His attitude and work ethic impressed Ian McGeechan and Shaun Edwards who offered him a one-year extension to his contract, one that he didn’t believe would be forthcoming at one point.

Wasps lost every pre-season match and to compound matters their first three league matches.

Staunton, who had managed some game-time starting from the bench, was suddenly selected to start for last Friday’s trip to face the Leicester Tigers at Welford Road.

He laughed: "Well it wouldn’t be the first option you’d go for in terms of a start. It’s a difficult place to go and win and the Leicester match is one that Wasps always want to win. The rivalry is massive.

“Towards the end of last season I’d started to think about life after rugby, especially if I wasn’t re-signed. I was struggling a little bit but at the same time was determined to really give it everything and see what happened.”

Staunton kicked five penalties, two drop goals and a conversion for 23 of his team’s points in a 28-19 victory and a first win of the season.

Wasps’ other points, and their only try came from another Irishman, 24-year-old hooker Damien Varley. Staunton explained: "I got so many texts from a St Munchin’s College and Garryowen background.

"Damien and myself went to the same school and obviously played for the same club. He came over on a six-week trial during the summer and signed a one-year deal on the morning of the Leicester game.

"It was a pretty impressive debut to come off the bench and score a try. It was a typical effort from him burrowing over from close range.

“Wasps have been impressed with his attitude and quality and his progress just shows that there are other ways forward in the professional game rather than simply going the academy route.”

Staunton excelled in the manner in which he ran the game, unconcerned about whether his team’s tactics would be considered boring.

“When you’ve lost your first three matches you’re not going to be choosy. It was quite boring but it was effective. Sometimes you have to change tactics that aren’t working. The coaches and players really appreciated that win.”

His performance was not lost on the man who will replace him against Bath - well for half a game - tonight.

Cipriani admitted: "I just want to try to be a positive influence on the team and get them moving forward as much as I can.

“Jeremy (Staunton) played fantastically well last time out so I’ve got my work cut out here at Wasps to get back at fly-half.”

Cipriani knows Staunton will start against Gloucester on Saturday and after that it’ll be a straight fight to decide who gets the starting jersey when Wasps host Castres in the opening round of Heineken Cup matches the following weekend.

Staunton has spent most of his career listening to what others want of him. He’s more confident now to trust his instincts.

“The coaches were quite complimentary after the Leicester game and it is a good psychological boost. I needed a big game, needed to prove that I could perform. I have been making match squads this season which is a good start and I know I need regular game time. I need to be able to carry on from last Friday and hopefully I will be able to do that.”

Jeremy Staunton

DOB: May 7th, 1980

Age: 28

Club: London Wasps

Position: Outhalf

Born: Limerick

Height: 1.83m

Weight: 95 kg

Educated at St Munchin’s College and University College Limerick

Ireland ‘A’ debut: against Italy A in April 99

Ireland debut: November 2001, against Samoa at Lansdowne Road

2008 The Irish Times

519

watched the match.

i was shocked at how well he played.

johnny sexton watch your back there is another challenger for nr 2.

520

said the same myself on this thread friday night FoF…had been a good while since i had seen him play out half and he looked a much more composed palyer than i had seen before…when he was in munchins he was seen as the next big thing of irish rugby…