'I heard Julian White berate Manu for not punching properly'
Former Leicester CEO Simon Cohen has revisited the infamous 2011 occasion when Manu Tuilagi ignited a media storm after wildly punching Chris Ashton during a Premiership derby versus Northampton. Uncapped at the time, the sin-binned midfielder escaped a red card but was facing a ten-week ban following a citing that could have scuppered his England selection chances under Martin Johnson for that year’s World Cup.
Instead, the punishment was reduced to five weeks, resulting in the then 20-year-old missing the league final against Saracens but freeing him to train with England that summer and make his Test debut ahead of the finals in New Zealand.
“This sort of incident is very damaging to the image of the game,” said the presiding disciplinary officer, Jeff Blackett, at the time. “Had it occurred in the high street an offender would have been prosecuted in the criminal courts.”
Eleven years later, the X-rated Tuilagi incident was recalled during a guest appearance by Cohen on The Big Jim Show, the new interview series hosted by ex-Scotland player Jim Hamilton who got to know the administrator when he was on the books as a Leicester player in the mid-noughties.
The pair were initially talking about Dean Richards, the former Leicester boss who went on to suffer a lengthy suspension from the game due to the Bloodgate controversy at Harlequins in 2009.
Really enjoyed doing this – wonderful editing and great questions from @jimhamilton4 . Hopefully worth a listen.
— simon cohen (@simonjcohen) August 9, 2022
Cohen worked at Leicester from 2005 to 2020 in roles such as director of operations and then as CEO and his initial comments on Richards and his trial by media at Harlequins gave way to reflections on the Tuilagi media storm for his widely publicised punch on an opponent, someone that would soon become an England teammate of his. Here is how the conversation unfolded on the show:
Simon Cohen: Dean was so unfortunate because what happened at Quins was not handled well by the authorities. I thought given there was a lot of that fake blood floating around and given that Dean was done mainly for a cover-up – but the cover-up was not to cover it up, the cover-up was to protect the people that worked for him because that was Dean. To take somebody’s livelihood away for three years was draconian and the punishment didn’t fit the crime in any way, shape or form for me. That was very, very harsh for such a great servant of the game.
Jim Hamilton: It’s was trail by media like everything is now and that was probably the time where it came in with Tom Williams, who came off winking and stuff like that. Wow, that shifted the dial. You forget that, was it three years Deano that went down for?
SC: Yeah, terrible. That was a terrible, terrible punishment. The media does influence the punishment. I remember doing Manu’s hearing after he had punched Chris Ashton and Sky had shown that image of Chris Ashton’s head rocking backwards and forwards.
JH: He took it well, didn’t he?
SC: The punch?
JH: Yeah.
SC: Well, I went into the dressing room immediately afterwards to hear Julian White berate Manu for not punching properly. Apparently, he was on his tiptoes.
JH: He was in the air, so no power.
SC: Yes, no power. So yeah, I don’t know whether it was Manu’s best shot that Chris took. He was still standing, wasn’t he, which was quite a feat. Not so much with Geordie (Murphy) because there was an incident in another of the Saints games where Chris dragged Alesana by the hair which, given Alesana was Alesana and a Tuilagi, wasn’t the most sensible thing to do. Anyway, a free-for-all breaks out near the touchline and when I watched it back with Cockers [Richard Cockerill], we saw Geordie rush in and thump somebody twice and they didn’t even notice.
JH: Yeah, Geordie is not much of a scrapper. But you know Ashy [Ashton], he is obviously at Leicester now. You know the story where the Tuilagis said, ‘You are never welcome back in Leicester’, so the Tuilagis have given him the keys to the stadium and the training facility in terms of he can turn up but he isn’t allowed to live in Leicester, he has to live outside.
SC: They are very forgiving people, they live their lifestyle in a really good way and they move on. I’d be surprised if that was a true story.
JH: We’ll say it’s true…
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets 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?
10 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.
9 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.
10 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.
22 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.
9 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…??? 🤑🤑🤑
34 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
34 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 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.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments