Ireland issue statement in response to Bundee Aki allegations

Like it or not the ref is the boss and only he will be obeyed . Any player that feels they have the right to constantly question this very important discipline deserves the strongest penalty

After the Autumn Internationals, I had IRE as a solid 3rd place for the 6N’s but with the number of withdrawals and injuries, I am wondering if 4th place is a better expectation.

They are just being savaged by injuries after the Lions and have likely lost 1/3rd of their starting team before the Six Nations even starts.

SCO & ITA will never have a better chance.

Sorry WAL fans . . . . But at least you will win something at the end of the competition.

I 100% agree that players need to respect the officals and Akis ban is justified for the way he treated the officals. There is however a serious issue in the quality of refering in the URC in particular. I was at the game last Saturday night and the number of calls that should have been made that wern’t was to high. Leinster were constantly offside at the ruck there was high tackles not punished along with other situations missed. Its not fair to blame to ref as there is a team of officals and the 2 very experienced officals on the sideline have to carry some of the blame.

The reality is if the players arent getting a fair rub of the green from the ref in both directions then they are going to speak out and they need to be allowed to do so in a fair and respectful way be that during the game or after the game

Considering the disgraceful and embarrassing way top level soccer players have been allowed to argue with the ref for generations it's good that the Irish refs are standing their ground (even if some of them are a bit useless at times!). Let’s face it the rugby rules are a bit more complicated but that's even more reason to expect some thick players not to understand them and rather STFU.

It does feel like a pattern rather than a one-off. Bundee’s not the first, and he won’t be the last — Sexton made a career out of riding the ref, and plenty of Irish players have followed suit.

That stuff doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Coaches set the tone, and under Andy Farrell Ireland have been ultra-competitive, confrontational and constantly in the referee’s ear. It’s worked for them, but there’s a fine line between pushing and overstepping it.

Looks like the refs might be pushing back now. Probably not a bad reset for everyone.

He must already be guilty as charged if he’s removed from the team.

Aki has been given a 4 game ban, so misses this week’s game and the first 3 rounds of the 6 Nations.

Ban him for 12 months!

Respect for officials is what makes rugby different from most other sports. It’s a non-negotiable!

In the last game between the Boks and Ireland, when the halftime whistle was blown Bundee could be heard swearing at the ref. It’s become a habit.

Just as well it was an Irish ref involved, or the conspiracy theorists would be having a field day!