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Eye gouging and stomping - La Rochelle's dirty tactics a throwback to rugby's amateur days

By Online Editors
Sale and La Rochelle players involved in a scuffle. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

La Rochelle spent the majority of their Champions Cup match against Sale with 14-men after hooker Pierre Bourgarit was red-carded on the stroke of halftime for eye-gouging.

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The hooker was spotted grabbing at England flanker Tom Curry’s eyes during a scuffle between the two sides. The TMO reviewed the incident and deemed a red card necessary for the offence.

The visitors were down to 13-men for a further 20-minutes as they were hit with two more yellow cards that could have been more as the French club lost control of their discipline in a wild encounter at AJ Bell Stadium.

With five minutes remaining, centre Geoffrey Doumayrou was seen stomping on an opposition arm at a ruck, pushing his boot into the wrist of a player competing for the ball.

Doumayrou was called over by the refeeree for a talking to after the incident was reviewed by the TMO but no further cards were issued for the act. The French centre was visibly upset at even the penalty, arguing with the referee over the decision.

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La Rochelle’s horrific discipline played an influential part in the match, losing the penalty count by 17-8. They were also outgunned in turnovers, with a Curry-powered Sale winning the turnover battle 10-1.

It was surprising that Sale did not finish with more points given the advantages that La Rochelle gave them, however, the home side missed a couple of penalties and had a length of the field try rubbed out for a forward pass.

 

The result effectively puts La Rochelle out of contention following a 31-12 home defeat by Exeter but sets up the Sharks for their home tie against the unbeaten Chiefs in a fortnight’s time.

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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