A whiff of Cordite

[ronk]

Lets keep it simple. It was a bloody great tackle, a try saving tackle. Arms wrapped, below the shoulder line, what's not to like?

You get away with that once. Do it a few times and you'll be injured even if you never cross the line that gets you banned.

[alanair]

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/ ... 7?mode=amp

This article is a great laugh. It argues that he should be red carded because something could have happened, but didn't, because there was whiplash to Balacoune, unrelated to whether that was caused illegally, and because Julien Marchand is banned for a shoulder into the head, and people have been banned for stamping on peoples heads in the past. Therefore something something something oh no the judge has just laughed Giuliani out of court and directed him to a good martini bar.

Go for a drink Owen. Just come up with your argument before your fourth this time.

I mentioned the reaction to that tackle in the Munster thread earlier, I don't get it at all.

If people want to debate that in future tacklers should bend their hips or something then fine, but to say the officials got it wrong (other than the arm slipping up which is fair enough but that's not what's being debated by people), to want a legal tackle to be punished, and wanting the officials to work outside the protocols is really grinding my gears.

I hate outcome based decisions and don't want dangerous play going unpunished just because someone missed the target etc, but this was a proper wrap and he avoided head to head contact. If that kind of tackle has no place in the game then so be it, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with not deeming it to be dangerous play on Friday.

as a former referee myself, I hate the way that Owen Doyle seems to take the 'populist' view on all decisions . Of course , as now former director of Referees with IRFU , maybe he just feels he has to do so now.

[Ruckedtobits]

Just noticed that Gavin Cummiskey is bylined in today's IT as "Soccer Correspondent". Has he finally been transferred?

[ronk]

Hope so

[Dexter]

Just noticed that Gavin Cummiskey is bylined in today's IT as "Soccer Correspondent". Has he finally been transferred?

He'd be way more suited for that...

[Blue not red blood]

Assuredly

[LeRouxIsPHat]

If he has been moved I wonder if Rob Kearney’s book had anything to do with it? Probably not great for one of the inner circle to call him out like that.

[Dave Cahill]

Or maybe there is a major tournament on shortly and due to the distributed nature of it they've had to add bodies to the Soccer desk to cover it

[joooooe]

Or maybe there is a major tournament on shortly and due to the distributed nature of it they've had to add bodies to the Soccer desk to cover it

The Irish Times had Ken Early covering Japan v South Africa in Brighton in 2015. That said, I noticed that "The Offload" appears to have disappeared too.

[Trusty Sword2]

Emmet Malone, former football corr, has moved to news desk. Gavin has moved over.

[riocard911]

I highly recommend this week's the42 rugby podcast. Birch is on fire and tears into Nucifora and the IRFU big time. Even Murray K gets carried along, describing large parts of Nucifora's latest report as "bullshit". Worth listening to. Jackman's critique is so comprehensive, he doesn't even have to play his ace in the hole i.e. mention the Jenkin's transfer.

https://www.the42.ie/the42-rugby-weekly ... 9-Jun2021/

[the spoofer]

I highly recommend this week's the42 rugby podcast. Birch is on fire and tears into Nucifora and the IRFU big time. Even Murray K gets carried along, describing large parts of Nucifora's latest report "bullshit". Worth listening to. Jackman's critique is so comprehensive, he doesn't even have to play his ace in the hole i.e. mention the Jenkin's transfer.

https://www.the42.ie/the42-rugby-weekly ... 9-Jun2021/

Good to see. He gets an awful soft ride from the media.

[deco]

I highly recommend this week's the42 rugby podcast. Birch is on fire and tears into Nucifora and the IRFU big time. Even Murray K gets carried along, describing large parts of Nucifora's latest report "bullshit". Worth listening to. Jackman's critique is so comprehensive, he doesn't even have to play his ace in the hole i.e. mention the Jenkin's transfer.

https://www.the42.ie/the42-rugby-weekly ... 9-Jun2021/

Good to see. He gets an awful soft ride from the media.

Yes, he gets a very soft ride for a man who has failed to achieve the goals he set himself:

-World Cup semi-final or better in 2019 and 2023 (FAIL)
-2 or more Six Nations titles (NOT LOOKING GOOD)
-2 or more European titles (NOT LOOKING GOOD)
-Consistently be ranked in the top 3 teams in the world (FAIL)
-2 or more Pro 14 titles (HURRAH)

Maybe he has a cunning plan to win the six nations and we all know that he's bet the family silver propping up Munster so maybe they'll win the next 2 heino's for him.

[FLIP]

Franno fired from the Indo for racist comments about Marcus Smith on Luke Fitzgerald's podcast. Not listened to the podcast in question so I don't know if they took him to task on it but the fact it was published at all is mad (unless someone on the podcast wanted him gone)

[ronk]

What did he say?

[FLIP]

What did he say?

https://twitter.com/wordmud/status/1418 ... 02434?s=19

You could be generous and say that he didn't know Marcus Smith was of East Asian heritage (in which was he's bad at his job and should be fired) but that knowing chuckle at the end.. he knew exactly what he did.

Good riddance to bad rubbish, just a shame it took him being racist to get him fired instead of him being sh!t at his job.

[Oldschoolsocks]

What did he say?

https://twitter.com/wordmud/status/1418 ... 02434?s=19

You could be generous and say that he didn't know Marcus Smith was of East Asian heritage (in which was he's bad at his job and should be fired) but that knowing chuckle at the end.. he knew exactly what he did.

Good riddance to bad rubbish, just a shame it took him being racist to get him fired instead of him being sh!t at his job.

I endorse this comment

[ronk]

I'm not 100% convinced. He has too much history going after soft targets like Beckham and Henson and it's a lazy popular path for him. The dog whistle is tricky and doesn't win podcast subscribers, it's a bit brave for him. It also doesn't fit with the point he was apparently making. But I'm wouldn't trust him fully on it either.

Either way, once the Lions reacted it was game over for him. And he's responsibly for what he said. Oh and I'm kinda glad he got his comeuppance finally.

[heno]

He has previous on this...
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.irisht ... 3fmode=amp

Step 1) have a definite sense of what a real man is
Step 2) decide that some group doesn't fit that definition (gay / nice hair and fake tan /different skin tone /whatever)
Step 3) therefore you have now proved they are not that good at rugby /sport in general.

Whether you think this is limiting free speech or cancel culture gone too far, what we can all agree is that it's not rugby analysis and dressing it up as such is good enough reason to be fired.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

[Ruckedtobits]

What will result from the newly-announced Media Partnership between the IT and Leinster rugby? With the dismissal of Francis, only Fanning remains in the Indo to provide any Leinster balance in Middle Abbey Street. Will the new alliance include any editorial direction to provide critical commentary on the deficits in Munster coaching?

Or is this strictly a marketing marriage to piggy-back on Schools and underage talent within Leinster to expand the IT readership in the population heavy East of the country?

Time will tell, but surely the IT readers in Cork, Waterford and Limerick (a minority) won't be happy to see the Old Lady join hands with their long-term nemesis?