'A deeply unpleasant experience': London Irish coach banned
London Irish have been dealt a blow with the suspension of midfielder Curtis Rona and assistant coach Brad Davis following a virtual independent disciplinary hearing following incidents arising from their Gallagher Premiership defeat last Saturday at Leicester. Ronan was red-carded while Davis was charged with “conduct prejudicial to the interests of the union for shouting numerous comments of disrespect to the match officials”.
Rona accepted his dangerous tackling charge and was banned for three games – the March 18 Premiership Cup match versus Harlequins, versus Northampton in the Premiership on March 25 and the March 29 Premiership Cup game with Leicester.
The Australian could have his ban scratched for that last game as he has applied for tackle school, the World Rugby coaching intervention programme. Panel chair Gareth Graham said: “The player accepted that he had made a dangerous tackle that passed the red card threshold.
“The panel concluded that this was a reckless tackle, delivered with some force, direct to the head of the opposition player. Fortunately, there was no injury. The panel accepted that in the circumstances, the mandatory minimum entry-point of six weeks (for offences where there is contact with the head/neck area) was appropriate.
“A reduction by way of mitigation was given on account of the acceptance of the charge, the lack of any previous offending, and the remorse and conduct demonstrated by the player. The player will miss the next three matches for the club, subject to the player’s application to World Rugby for a week of his suspension to be replaced with the successful completion of the coaching intervention programme.”
ICYMI: "I wasn’t selected again and that was my Wallabies career done"
– It was October when @Rona1Curtis talked to @heagneyl ??? about @londonirish, the NRL, why he prefers union to league & what actually went down between him and Cheika in Wallabies camphttps://t.co/Bk10QMsRk2
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 27, 2021
Davis, meanwhile, found himself in trouble for “shouting numerous comments of disrespect to the match officials”, a charge he accepted and he will be suspended from all matchday activities for the two Irish games versus Harlequins and Northampton. Graham said: “In light of the acceptance of the charge, and having heard evidence from the match referee Karl Dickson, the panel found the matter proven.
“The panel concluded that Davis, while standing near the edge of the pitch at the end of the match, made derogatory comments about Dickson as the referee walked past him. The comments were made within Dickson’s earshot, were prompted by his presence, and were directed towards him.
“The panel accepted that the offence was to be dealt with as one arising from disrespecting a match official. The panel accepted that this was a deeply unpleasant experience for the referee and took the view that as a case of disrespect it should be placed within the mid-range entry point given the nature of the words used, the potential impact on the referee and his standing in the rugby community, along with the importance of maintaining the core values of the game.
“A reduction by way of mitigation was given on account of the acceptance of the charge, the obvious remorse for the comment, the commendable way in which Davis had engaged with the panel, the lack of any previous offending, and the candid apology delivered to Dickson during the hearing.
“The result was that the panel imposed a two-match ban from all match day coaching duties (meaning he can only attend as a spectator). In addition, Davis is required to deliver a presentation to the London Irish U16-18 academy on the values of the game.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Bulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to commentsThis is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?
35 Go to commentsWow, didn’t realise there was such apathy to URC in SA, or by Champions Cup teams. Just read Nick’s article on Crusaders, are Sharks a similar circumstance? I think SA rugby has been far more balanced than NZs, no?
4 Go to comments