Bath's Dave Attwood banned 'for losing my s***, I crossed a line'
Ex-England lock Dave Attwood has been banned after he was cited for punching/striking in last Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership win by Bath over Northampton. He will miss three matches, including the prestigious November 20 friendly arranged for The Rec against the Barbarians.
An RFU statement read: “The case of Dave Attwood of Bath Rugby was heard on Tuesday evening, October 25, by an independent disciplinary panel chaired by Martin Picton, sitting with Alastair Campbell and Mitch Read.
“Attwood was cited for punching or striking contrary to World Rugby law 9.12 in the match against Northampton Saints on October 22. He received a three-week ban. Attwood will miss the following games: November 5 vs Newcastle Falcons, November 11 vs Leicester Tigers and November 20 vs the Barbarians.”
Fraser Dingwall, the Northampton player who was struck by Attwood, suffered a nosebleed which was treated on the field and he continued to play with no other effects. It was Dingwall who drew the referee’s attention to the incident, the written judgement explaining: “Northampton No12 gets up and goes immediately over to the referee.
“He shouts to the referee, ‘He has f******* slammed my head into the floor’. The TMO has a look at the incident informally but doesn’t see any clear footage to bring it to the attention of the referee. The incident was not formally reviewed by the referee team. The video of the incident is consistent with the report.”
'Can you imagine a Premiership club going ‘Right lads, we’re going skiing’. Absolutely no way… it was me, Bryan Habana & Duane Vermeulen learning to ski together' @Dmjattwood fell out of love with rugby at Bath but found it again, writes @heagneyl ??? https://t.co/QWWZQPD1Ek
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 21, 2021
The summary of the evidence submitted by Attwood was lengthy and insightful. “I wish to accept the charge and am providing the following statement in the hope of being able to save the panel’s time and allow them to consider this matter on the papers. I, Dave Attwood, wish to plead guilty to the charge of foul play under RFU regulation 9.12 – striking with the arm,” he wrote.
“In the second half of a fiercely competitive match against Northampton, I found myself attempting to clear out a ruck close to the Northampton line. Northampton No12 had effected the tackle and it was my opinion that he did not make a sufficient attempt to remove himself from the tackle area.
“With frustration, I took it upon myself to highlight this to both Northampton No12 and to the referee by attempting to jostle him vigorously and bang him into the floor. While It was not my specific intention to slam Northampton No12’s head into the floor, my actions were reckless and I should have been aware of there being a possible if not likely repercussion of my actions given the mechanics at play.
“It was much easier for me to articulate the upper torso/head neck area than the bulk of the midriff/torso. While there was not a high level of speed or impact collision, there was a reasonable force and the contact of my forearm to the upper back/neck/head area of Northampton No12 certainly warrants this being elevated under the head protocol guidelines past the low range entry point.
“Other than deliberately obstructing the ball, there was no provocation from Northampton No12. He did not retaliate and although several Northampton players charged in to make remonstrations on Northampton No12’s behalf, it did not sour the game and the remainder was played in good spirit.
“Northampton No12 was not removed from the pitch and played the remainder of the game. At the next break in play, I took the opportunity to apologise to Northampton No12. I further reiterated this to him after the final whistle and messaged him privately that evening.
“I will be happy to provide a screen copy of this message exchange if required but quoting it… ‘Hey dude, tough shift today. I’m sorry for losing my shit. I crossed a line and I’m not proud of it. I would have reacted worse if it was me. I’m sorry. I’m a better person than that and today I wasn’t. Good luck for the rest of the season. Will see you at your place in the New Year’.”
Dingwall replied: “All good, mate – as I said (on the pitch), I get it and it would have just happened in the heat of the moment. I do really appreciate the message and could tell you regretted it soon after anyway but don’t worry, I’m not holding any grudges… see you at our place.”
Attwood then continued his summary: “Speaking to mitigation… while I am unfortunately not (in rugby terms) youthful and inexperienced, I have worked hard to maintain an exceptionally high disciplinary record throughout my career. I was banned in 2011 for recklessly stamping, but with that aside, I have maintained a career of over 17 years at the top of professional rugby with that being the only real blemish.
“I have and do readily admit that my conduct fell greatly below the standards required by the RFU but also far below the high standards I hold for myself. Instead of celebrating the first win of the season with my teammates, I spent the evening apologising to my teammates and coaches and family.
“I have taken an interest in supporting other players with disciplinary issues over the past three/four seasons and have appeared in front of many panels discussing these matters, and I am embarrassed to be here representing myself and my own poor conduct.
“I am held in high regard by most, if not all, referees as someone who has good communication skills, good emotional control and a good understanding of the laws of the game. Despite being someone renowned for physicality, I have thus far managed to ensure that always remained on the right side of the law and I am sorry to have breached that commitment.
“I will be happy to submit a further character reference should the panel wish to read one. My understanding is that the RFU sees this as a mid-range offence and, as stated above, I agree with them and will wait to hear thoughts on mitigation, before hopefully it can be requested that the panel consider dealing with this matter on the papers.”
- Click here for Dave Attwood’s full written judgement
Comments on RugbyPass
This looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to comments