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'He grabbed me by the throat' - Justin Marshall reveals bust-up with former Wales international

By Online Editors
Justin Marshall during his time with Ospreys. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

NZ Herald: Former All Black halfback Justin Marshall has revealed the moment a years-long feud with a Welsh player spilled over – resulting in a bust-up in the players’ tunnel of the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in 2007. Marshall, who spent two seasons at Ospreys following his stellar test career, and former Wales international Mike Phillips clashed during an EDF Energy Cup semi-final match between Phillips’ Cardiff Blues and Marshall’s Ospreys back in 2007.

Speaking to BBC Sport’s Scrum V podcast, Marshall revealed how the pair almost came to blows after Phillips refused to shake his hand after the encounter, won 27-10 by Ospreys and during which the 81-test former All Black got the better of his younger counterpart.

“He grabbed me by the throat after the game when I tried to shake his hand,” Marshall said.

“That’s how wound up he was. He was angry.”

According to Marshall, an earlier off-field incident had fuelled the rivalry before the clash.

“What he did that annoyed me was that he approached me one night in a pub in Swansea and had another go, with the same sort of stuff. ‘You’re rubbish. I’m a better player than you and all that’,” Marshall said.

“That’s stepping out of the boundaries and you probably deserve to be pulled in a little bit.

Marshall, who spent ten seasons with the Crusaders before joining Leeds in 2006, left Ospreys in 2008 after Phillips joined the club. He retired from playing in 2010 before taking up commentary.

He explained that Phillips wasn’t a fan of his from their first meeting.

“My first experience of playing a Welsh team at Leeds was against Cardiff, and I very quickly learned that Mike Phillips didn’t like me!

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“I’d never met him before and with the greatest of respect to him, I didn’t know who he was. He was a young player and I’d just arrived in the country.

“By God he disliked me. A lot of it was really personal. ‘You’re rubbish. What are you doing out here?’ Blah, blah, blah.

“At this stage I’d played 81 tests for the All Blacks so I thought I was okay!”

This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and is republished with permission.

 

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Bull Shark 2 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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