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Biting, eye-gouging and ref abuse: The longest bans in rugby union history

By Josh Raisey
Percy Montgomrery tackles Leon Lloyd (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images).

Bans are something that receive a lot of attention these days in rugby, particularly due to how arbitrary and inconsistent they can be.

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England’s Joe Marler is one player that has made headlines in recent weeks, receiving a ten-week ban in fairly unique circumstances for his notorious grab of Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones, and controversy ensued.

But by the standards of modern rugby, Marler’s ban is fairly insignificant. There are many others who have had a much longer absence from the game for acts of foul play on the field.

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Names like Chris Jones and Michel Palmie echo through the amateur era for all the wrong reasons, but there are those in the professional game that join them.

So here are some of the worst rugby bans in the professional era:

9. Julien Dupuy

Stade Francais’ encounter with Ulster at Ravenhill in 2009 will long be remembered as a game with some of the most heinous acts of foul play in the modern era.

Former France scrum-half Julien Dupuy was one player to fall on the wrong side of the law that game, and was given a 24-week ban for his contact with the eye area of Stephen Ferris, which was later reduced to 23-weeks.

8. Kevin Yates

Despite pleading his innocence, former England prop Kevin Yates was handed a six-month ban by the RFU in 1998 for biting the ear of London Scottish flanker Simon Fenn.

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The bite occurred after a collapsed scrum, and the flanker subsequently required 25 stitches to his ear. However, there was no visual evidence of the bite, which may explain why the ban was only six months, as there were many demands for it to be longer.

7. Neil Back

Rugby World Cup winning flanker Neil Back may be more famous for what he got away with on a rugby field than for what he was punished for, but he was on the receiving end of a six-month ban in 1996.

This came after Leicester Tigers’ loss to Bath in the Pilkington Cup final, where he pushed referee Steve Lander to the ground. Back insisted that he mistook Lander for Bath flanker Andy Robinson, but the ban still stood.

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6. Percy Montgomery

The Springboks centurion and RWC winner was not famous for his brushes with the law throughout his career, but he received a two-year ban in 2003 for pushing a touch judge over whilst playing for Newport.

The ban had 18 months suspended, which meant the South African was only absent for six months, but he still missed the Springboks’ RWC campaign later that year.

5. Calum Clark

Saracens flanker Calum Clark was handed a 32-week ban in 2012 while a Northampton Saint for hyper-extending Leicester Tigers hooker Rob Hawkins’ arm. Watching the offence again is not for the faint-hearted, as Hawkins suffered a fractured elbow and was in visible agony.

Such a felony could have warranted a five-year ban, so the one-cap England flanker could have deemed himself lucky for only receiving 32 weeks, as there were many who thought it should have been longer.

4. Sebastien Rouet

Following a melee after Belgium’s 18-10 victory over Spain in March 2018, Spanish scrum-half Sebastien Rouet was handed a 43-week ban for physically and verbally abusing Romanian referee Vlad Iordachescu.

The controversy arose as members of the Spain team felt the referee had intentionally inhibited them from winning as it gave Romania automatic qualification, which was later withdrawn for other reasons. This proved to be highly controversial and an investigation was launched.

The former Bayonne halfback, who was a substitute on this occasion, was not the only one to be banned, as four of his teammates also copped lengthy punishments, including a 36-week ban for starting scrum-half Guillaume Rouet. Both players have played for their country since the bans.

3. David Attoub

Former Stade Francais prop David Attoub was another player in the ill-famed fixture against Ulster to be punished, and this was yet again for gouging. Former Ireland international Ferris was the victim again for this transgression, and footage of the gouge is shuddering.

While Dupuy’s crime was certainly bad, Attoub’s was despicable beyond measure. There was simply no excuse for his actions, and he was subsequently banned for 70 weeks, partly due to a previous gouging punishment.

This was during a time where there was an increasing number of gouging offences, which has abated in recent years, but the four-cap Frenchman’s ban showed the price players will pay.

2. Dean Richards

While Dean Richards was not strictly playing when the infamous Bloodgate scandal occurred, it was still on the field of play and was orchestrated by the former Harlequins coach.

rugby bans
Dean Richards (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The ploy, which revolved around blood capsules from a joke shop, saw Richards receive a three-year ban from rugby following the incident during Harlequins’ fixture with Leinster in 2009. Tom Williams, who came off with the fake blood injury in order for Nick Evans to return to the field of play, was also banned for twelve months, but that was reduced to four after an appeal.

1. Trevor Brennan

When former Toulouse lock Trevor Brennan jumped into the crowd and struck a fan in 2007 during a fixture against Ulster at the Stade Ernest Wallon, there were always going to be severe repercussions.
The 13-cap Ireland international had a reputation for being somewhat irascible, but this was unseen, and he was given a life ban from rugby. That was reduced to a five-year ban shortly after, but it still signaled the end of his career.

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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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john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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