Round shaped vs. Egg shaped - The debate lingers on

Some of my readers (of which I presume not to have many), may recently have seen a tweet from ex-England rugby player, Ben Kay which has caused something of a stir in the sports media world. (Click here to see it).  Said tweet compared Arsenal footballer, Alexis Sanchez's nicked lip with Worcester Warriors' Nick Schonert's open cheek, as Kay asked which of the two rolled around on the floor clutching their face at the time of their respective injuries.  

According to his column in yesterday's Times, Kay's purpose of posting that tweet was not to decide whether Association Football or Rugby Football was superior to the other but merely to highlight the growing issue of gamesmanship in today's professional sport.  But of course, like the comic book geeks' DC v. Marvel or the more common Android v. Apple debates, the ever present rugby v. football superiority race lingers on!

I should preface my discussion on this by insisting, like Ben Kay, that I am both a rugby and a football fan (Harlequins and Chelsea, respectively).  It's fair to say that rugby plays a larger part in my life than football, in part, due to my role as Club Secretary for my local rugby club.  I was brought up in a predominantly rugby household and spent many of my formative years crawling along the bar at Basingstoke Rugby Club dipping my fingers in pints and pulling the beards of any forward I could find propping up that bar! Some things never change...  But there was always the presence of football too; both the 'rugger buggers' in my life (my father and maternal grandfather) had a love for 'The Beautiful Game' played with the round ball and via genetic and social osmosis, this wore off onto me.  

I've watched a lot more rugby in my life, both on television and in person, than I have football but I fully appreciate the nuances, the skill and the beauty in both disciplines.  But I can't help but agree with Kay's column title that 'It's crucial that rugby wins the battle that football has lost' with regard to gamesmanship on the pitch.  While watching Chelsea's FA Cup semi-final game against Tottenham last week, it really struck me just how much time is wasted in Association Football by players suffering, often, nothing more than a textbook tackle before dropping to the floor, clutching an ankle like a fallen hero in a war film!  Not only does it completely disrupt the opportunity for any fluidity in the game, it can make it bloody boring to watch; more enraging for those who've paid upwards of £50 to watch it in person.

Just as the game approached 3.5 mins, Spurs' Alderweireld went for a tackle on Chelsea's Pedro who flung himself to the ground making the best use of any school drama qualifications he may have, clutching both knees in, obviously feigned, agony.  Granted, this was essentially Alderweireld tripping Pedro up with both legs so worthy of the yellow card awarded by Martin Atkinson but surely, Atkinson's knowledge of the game is such that he knows an infringement has been made without Pedro's assistance?  Lo and behold, once the yellow was awarded, Pedro was up on his feet and jogging off to resume his position on the field of play; his disabling injury seemingly cured!   

'We have had some incidents of simulation in rugby and we cannot allow a situation to develop', Kay continues in his column and sadly, he's right.  During the Scotland/South Africa game in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at Newcastle FC's St. James' Park, Scotland's Stuart Hogg was admonished by legendary referee Nigel Owens for diving.  'If you want to dive like that again, come back here in two weeks and play [when Newcastle United are at home]!'  Clearly, Owens understands how commonplace the dramatic dive is in football!  Another recent instance is that of Scarlet's flanker, James Davies against Saracens in January this year.  Upon receiving a slap to his scrum-capped head from Saracens' Will Skelton, Davies raises his hand in shock before deciding to raise it still further to his face in an effort to claim a punch has been thrown. (See video here) Skelton was sin-binned for the offence and Scarlets lost anyway!  The seeming ease with which Davies fell to the pitch led to much criticism from the rugby community and the inevitable comparison with certain footballing tactics.     

Having mentioned Nigel Owens, this brings me to another commonly discussed topic in the rugby/football debate; that of respect for the referee.  The rugby community has long been proud of its players' unflinching respect for its officials, converse to that of many football players (see attached).  Your average premiership footballer, when faced with an official's decision they're not happy with, will whinge, moan, pull a face, follow the referee pleading their innocence before stropping off like Kevin the Teenager after being told his Fatboy Slim CD has been confiscated.  Most premiership rugby players in the same situation will not only accept the decision and walk away but continue to refer to the referee as 'Sir', something which died out in Asssociation Football at least thirty years ago.  But like Ben Kay, I do worry that backchat towards the referee is infiltrating into the rugby game, at all levels.  Take Dylan Hartley's decision in the 2013 Premiership final between Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers to call referee Wayne Barnes a 'f**ing cheat'.  Disgraceful in itself but coupled with the fact he had already been warned earlier in the game by Barnes about speaking to him disrespectfully it becomes even more stupid.  Hartley, somehow, has since become the Captain of the England Rugby team but I'll save my views on that for another day... 

Whilst the fight against gamesmanship is very much over in the world of Association Football, let's hope that those who can have an impact on the rugby game be they players, officials or fans, don't let the same things infiltrate to a point that rugby is simply unrecognisable from its gentlemanly, sporting origins.