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'It was a needless yellow for Kyle... he got a couple of things wrong'

By Online Editors
Harlequins' Kyle Sinckler stands up at a scrum during last month's Gallagher Premiership Rugby match against Saracens (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)

Harlequins boss Paul Gustard has called on Kyle Sinckler to learn from his latest bout of indiscipline, the yellow card he received in his club’s 17-28 defeat at Sale on Friday night.

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The England tighthead has often walked a tightrope during his career, and his petulance cost Quins as he was sin-binned for an unnecessary slap on the chest of Sale scrum-half Faf de Klerk.

“It was a needless yellow card for Kyle,” Gustard said about the prop whose on-pitch behaviour was recently a hot topic when England were beaten in the Six Nations by Wales. “There’s nothing I can do today and during the game. Kyle’s a British Lion, he’s an exceptional player and he’s a key player for us.

“Unfortunately, he gave away a couple of penalties but he’ll grow and get better for that. I’ve no issues with Kyle’s discipline but today he got a couple of things wrong. 

“That’s what happens in rugby, people get things wrong and it’s unfortunate, and it’s cost us a bit today, but not specifically from Kyle’s incident.”

Sinckler wasn’t the only Quins player in the dock after the defeat as the Londoners conceded 14 penalties to Sale’s four and also had a second player, Matt Symons, yellow carded. Seven of the penalties they conceded were kickable, which allowed AJ MacGinty take Sale to a vital victory and deny Quins a losing bonus-point.

“For me – and the team feel the same – we were the better team as Sale didn’t really cause us too many problems. We just conspired to lose that game. We gave away daft penalties, had needless offsides and gave them a lot of kickable penalties. I generally walk away from this game thinking we were the better side. We had more line breaks, created more in attack and were defensively solid.”

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Sale boss Steve Diamond didn’t agree with Gustard, but he feels that his team aren’t play-off contenders despite the win over the higher-flying Quins. “Contrary to them thinking they were the better team, I thought we deserved the win and to deny them the bonus point,” Diamond said.

“But I don’t think we’re good enough to hit the top-four. Our two hardest games are coming up – Worcester and Bristol away – who are fighting for their lives.”

Diamond, meanwhile, also issued a rallying cry to the people of Manchester after a battle between two top-six teams only drew a crowd of 5,400 at the AJ Bell Stadium. He added: “We need more support. We’re in the semi-final of a cup, we’re in fifth place in the league and we get what some teams’ reserve sides get.

“I was really disappointed with the crowd size. A lot of work’s gone in from the club with the stadium and infrastructure. We know Manchester’s a football city but come and watch the rugby as well please.”

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– Press Association 

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J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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