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'A world of blame, unfairness and spite suddenly descended': Nigel Owens revisits nasty fallout from Liam Williams' Parisian yellow card
Nigel Owens has declared himself a fan of Twitter, highlighting how supportive it was of George North in midweek after he received his devastating injury news. However, he abhors the online trolls and has used this weekend’s sports-led social media blackout to revisit the abuse Wales full-back Liam Williams suffered in March.
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The Welsh player was yellow-carded and missed the closing moments of the March 20 Guinness Six Nations game in Paris, an absence that coincided with France striking at the death to win the match and deny Wayne Pivac’s team the Grand Slam.
Williams suffered the wrath of some online Wales rugby followers in the aftermath, a reaction that Owens has taken issue with in his latest walesonline.co.uk column. “I’m against trolling, full stop,” he stressed.
“I thought some of the posts about Liam Williams on Twitter were unacceptable after he was yellow-carded in Wales’ final match of the Six Nations. The irony was, of course, that he shouldn’t even have been penalised let alone sent to the sin bin. But that’s not the issue here.
“A world of blame, unfairness and spite suddenly descended on Liam. Eventually, of course, a lot of people came to his defence, but it could not have been easy for one of Welsh rugby’s most whole-hearted players to read what was written.
The RugbyPass Network will join the wider rugby community by taking part in a social media blackout from 15.00 GMT on Friday 30 April to 23.59 GMT on Monday 3 May in a show of solidarity against online abuse.
Racism, discrimination and bullying will not be tolerated. pic.twitter.com/oP0Rzp5nNo
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 30, 2021
“There is nothing wrong with commenting fairly on his or anyone else’s performance. Honest opinion within limits is what the best writers dish up in newspapers and on websites every day… but even for us officials, though, some commenters on social media can go too far. That is when the whole thing turns into unsocial media.”
Owens had begun his column singing the praises of social media, highlighting what it can achieve when used in a positive way. He also made reference to Wales midfielder North who saw his dream of a third Lions tour selection dashed by an ACL injury when playing for the Ospreys last weekend.
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“I use Twitter regularly and enjoy it a lot. I like the way it can be used to highlight good causes and injustice. I like the way it can give everyone the chance to have a say. I like the way it allows those with high profiles to communicate directly to the public and vice versa.
“It can be supportive, too. George North was getting 100 tweets an hour sent to him on Wednesday after revealing his heartbreaking news that he had damaged knee ligaments and would require surgery, thereby ruling him out of the Lions tour. Almost every one of the messages was wonderfully sympathetic and encouraging. It was heartwarming to see.”
A tale of our times and why @jameshaskell wants an end to anonymous social media users @RugbyPass https://t.co/HHoRyU2iWb
— chris jones (@chrisjonespress) May 1, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
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