Acts of gamesmanship have been around since the start of competitive sport, but they have certainly become more prevalent in rugby since the advent of professionalism.
Players and coaches have been looking to push the laws to the limit and will seek to gain an advantage in any way they possibly can.
Here are some of the moments since 1995 that have taken our eye, which range from the clever and ingenious to the simply unedifying.
Hand of Back (2002)
One of the most famous bits of gamesmanship as Neil Back basically won the Heineken Cup for his side Leicester Tigers with this sleight of hand. Going into the latter stages of the 2002 final, the English side were ahead 15-9, but Munster had a scrum just five metres out as they pushed for the winning try. The Tigers were under severe pressure but Back rather controversially relieved it by knocking the ball to Leicester’s side of the scrum as scrum-half Peter Stringer began to put it in.
Munster’s half-back was understandably angry, appealing to both the referee and touch judge, but none of the officials saw it. Of course, nowadays the TMO would have picked up on it, and Back would have been sin-binned, but in 2001 there was no such help available to the on-field officials, meaning that the openside’s actions helped Leicester secure their second European crown.
Italy’s ruck tactics v England (2017)
When the official Romain Poite uttered the line, “I am the referee not the coach” when speaking to James Haskell and Dylan Hartley, you knew England had been well and truly rattled by Italy’s tactics. The Azzurri went into this game against the defending Six Nations champions knowing that they were unlikely to win unless they devised a cunning plan.
Concocted by the brilliant mind of Brendan Venter, Italy took advantage of a loophole in the law by not committing any men to the ruck when a tackle had been made. It meant that there was no offside line and their players could block the scrum-half’s passing lane or tackle the man when they had moved more than a metre away from the ruck.
It was superb, it was clever and it left the English baffled. It also worked for the most part, with the visitors going into the break 10-5 ahead before the home side’s greater quality told. England did manage to adapt slightly better in the second period and would run out 36-15 winners, but the post-match reaction was all about the genius of Italy and their coaches.
Gary Halpin’s middle finger salute to the All Blacks (1995)
The former Ireland tighthead produced one of the most memorable moments of the 1995 Rugby World Cup when he got a bit carried away after scoring against the great All Blacks. You certainly couldn’t blame him, given the Irish’s struggles in the 1990s and the fact that prop tries are rare.
Ireland – and Halpin – were evidently fired up for the contest, and when he touched down for the opener, the tighthead gave the New Zealand team the middle finger. His team-mates, realising that they didn’t want to fire up the opposition, quickly ushered him away towards the halfway line.
Unfortunately, the All Blacks did respond and claimed a dominant 43-19 triumph, but the prop left a lasting impression. Halpin is sadly no longer with us after passing away in 2021, but he will be remembered as a wonderful character who very much took it to the All Blacks.
Bloodgate (2009)
No one will ever forget April 12, 2009 when Harlequins brought shame on the sport by trying to fake an injury which would allow them to make a substitution. The Londoners had gone into the Heineken Cup quarter-final against Leinster knowing that star fly-half Nick Evans was struggling with injury.
The former All Black duly sustained an issue early in the second period, resulting in him being replaced by Chris Malone. However, when Malone tore a hamstring, they had no recognised kicker going into the latter stages. They then patched up Evans on the sidelines and wing Tom Williams was told to fake a blood injury by biting on a capsule to allow Evans to return to the field.
They went in search of the winning points at 6-5 down, but fortunately, for the sake of the sport, the Irish province held on. The repercussions were severe for Quins, however, with director of rugby Dean Richards banned for three years, Williams suspended for 12 months (later reduced to four on appeal) and a two-year ban for physio Steph Brennan.
Yoann Huget’s dive (2015)
The former France international was the ultimate wind-up merchant, and his football-like antics certainly did not go down well in a Champions Cup tie with Bath. Simulation has become more prevalent in the game and we can partially blame Huget for that, with him going down far too easily on a few occasions.
It is a bit pointless, with cameras picking up on most things, but the Frenchman loved the theatrics and in 2015 he clutched his face when a Bath player simply touched him. Of course, the West Countrymen were not punished and Huget ended up looking rather silly, but this piece of gamesmanship rather gave an indication of what was to come in the sport.
British and Irish Lions block a penalty kick (2001)
It had happened a few times where players were lifted to stop the ball going over the uprights for a penalty, but this was the incident which prompted a law to change. During the Lions’ tour match with the Waratahs – yes, that famous game which saw Ronan O’Gara assaulted by Duncan McRae – Manny Edmonds lined up a shot at goal.
He sent the ball towards the posts and it was going over until props Darren Morris and Phil Vickery lifted Danny Grewcock above the crossbar. The second-row did stop the three points but he then knocked on in the process, giving the Waratahs a five-metre scrum. It was one of the last times that ever happened as it was outlawed by World Rugby after that.
Removing the post protector (2017)
It wasn’t that long ago that teams were able to score by placing the ball at the base of the post. It was very difficult to defend and frustrated sides for years before the law changed in 2020, to the delight of all defence coaches.
Counties Manukau scrum-half Augustine Pulu had a savvy way of dealing with it, though, which was… to remove the pad completely, leaving the pole bare. Unfortunately for Pulu, the referee quickly realised and stopped the game as they are there for safety purposes.
The official could not penalise the scrum-half, however, as it was not deemed to be against the laws, and it did halt the momentum of the Bay of Plenty attack, with the game restarting with a five-metre scrum two minutes later.
Carlos Spencer scoring try v Crusaders and giving the finger (2004)
The fly-half was at his mischievous best when Blues took on arch-rivals Crusaders in the early rounds of the 2004 Super 12 campaign. Spencer had been crucial to their 2003 title success and was playing with plenty of confidence at the start of the following year.
His side led 31-29 going into the final minute with the Christchurch outfit on the attack, but the Auckland side managed to turn the ball over, with play immediately being shifted to Spencer. The sensible option was to kick the ball away and relieve the pressure, but that wasn’t the maverick playmaker’s way. Instead, he passed it out wide where Joe Rokocoko was in space, and the wing broke clear, linked with Justin Collins, who then gave the try-scoring pass to his fly-half.
He could have easily gone underneath the posts but, in winding the crowd up, he walked to the right corner and finally touched it down. It, of course, made it a much more difficult conversion but, in true Spencer style, he nailed it. The score denied the Crusaders a losing bonus-point and he celebrated by duly sticking his middle finger up to the fans.
Jamie Cudmore joins France huddle (2015)
Former Canada lock Cudmore was celebrated in France during his playing days with Clermont for his abrasive and physical approach to the game. An uncompromising forward, Cudmore’s bit of sh*thousery shows his funny side during a heated battle during a Rugby World Cup match with France leading Canada 17-12.
Before a lineout, the French pack gathered to discuss their call, and unbeknownst to them, Cudmore had snuck into their huddle and was listening in. His former clubmate Rabah Slimani spotted what he was doing, pulled him out of the huddle, and shoved him back towards his own try line.
Nic White’s Oscar-worthy performance (2022)
Wallabies scrum-half White was widely criticised, and meme’d, for his action during the 2022 Rugby Championship clash with the Springboks. With the game in the balance in the closing stages, the Wallabies had a scrum feed in their own 22. Springbok’s scrum-half Faf de Klerk looked to apply pressure on White and attempted to slap the ball out of the Wallaby’s hands.
However, De Klerk missed the ball and grazed White’s face. The Wallaby made the most of the contact, reeling backwards and clutching at the air as he fell to the ground.
De Klerk was yellow-carded once the officials reviewed the incident, and the Springboks ultimately lost the Test 25-17. Former Springbok captain John Smit tweeted on the day that White had “just killed a little piece of Rugby’s soul”, while the memes came flowing in.
Andrew Mehrtens flips Loftus the double bird (1999)
There is no love lost between Andrew Mehrtens and the South Africans. Despite being born in Durban, Mehrtens has been particularly critical of the Springboks and was one of the voices calling for their exit from Super Rugby. It may all stem from the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. Or the country’s horrid political past. Nevertheless, while SA fans respected his ability on the pitch, the feelings were largely mutual.
In 1999, he expressed how he felt about the Loftus’ faithful after slotting a match-winning drop goal. The Bulls endured a torrid start to the season, and by round nine, they still hadn’t won a game.
The hosts led 28-27 over the defending champions, Crusaders, and with the game on the line, Merhtens was backtracking as he caught the ball in the pocket. He unleashed a crushing blow to the Bulls, sending his 30-odd metre drop-goal through the sticks. He celebrated by flipping two birds for the Bulls’ fans in the main stand.
Julian Montoya sledges Jamie Ritchie and Duhan van der Merwe (2022)
During a heated battle between Scotland and Argentina, Los Pumas captain Montoya was on top of his sledging form. Van der Merwe and Ritchie were on the wrong end of Montoya’s sledges, with the hooker overheard on the referee’s mic asking, “do you want me to speak in Afrikaans?” after a scuffle involving the big wing.
Ritchie responded to Montoya, telling him to “set an example, big fella”. Unfortunately for Ritchie, his comments came back to bite. When he was yellow carded, along with Thomas Gallo, after a scuffle two minutes later, Montoya responded, saying, “Really good example; you must be proud,” before sarcastically clapping the flanker off the field.
Balie Swart red-carding Andre Watson (1998)
It’s rare that the sh*thousery is directed at the referee, particularly not in the early days of the professional era. But in this case, former Springbok prop Swart did and paid the price.
Referee Andre Watson was renowned for maintaining a tight grip over proceedings on the rugby pitch and did not take kindly to Swart jokingly red-carding him during a match. Watson was busy talking with Swart’s captain when the prop spotted the referee’s red and proceeded to flash the card in the official’s face.
After reaching into his pocket to see that he had misplaced his red card, Watson snatched the card from Swart before giving him his marching orders. One of the most bizarre sending-offs you will ever see.
George Gregan’s four more years (2003)
Rugby’s most famous sledge? It has to be, right? And it was just three words: “Four more years.” and three words that would come back to bite Gregan.
During the 2003 Rugby World Cup, former Wallabies scrum-half Gregan uttered those words to his All Blacks counterpart Byron Kelleher in the latter stages of Australia’s 22-10 semi-final win over New Zealand.
Gregan was rubbing in the fact that the All Blacks would not end their World Cup title drought that year. Unfortunately for Gregan, the Wallabies would lose the final to England and have now gone over 20 years without winning the Webb Ellis Cup.
Gregan has addressed the sledge several times over the years and said the following in 2015.
“It was actually just directed at Byron Kelleher: we had a competitive, combative relationship for many years, and it was just at that point in the game; it just happened,” he told ESPN.
“He’d made a few errors since he came on; I was just looking to put some pressure on, and I think he was probably trying to force it a little bit when he came on and made some uncharacteristic errors which didn’t help his team and the game was sort of slipping at that point.
“And I just directed that at Byron, and the camera zoomed in at the time, and there you go; I’ve never heard the end of it. Every time I go to New Zealand, the Kiwis give me that one. So it was a bit of fun; well, it’s become a bit of fun anyway. But it was just a moment that was captured on camera between myself and Byron Kelleher, which was directed just purely at Byron, not at the whole All Blacks team.”
Peter O’Mahony’s Richie McCaw comment for Sam Cane (2022)
The sledges feature prominently on this list, and rightfully so. In fact, O’Mahony could fill a best sledge list himself. The Ireland and Munster back-rower is always quick with a slight jab or insult towards his opponent, particularly in the heat of battle.
Even in one of the biggest games of his career, O’Mahony unleashed a sledge on All Blacks captain Sam Cane, one that would have hurt. In the latter stages of the second Test between New Zealand and Ireland, O’Mahony was overheard on the referee mic, after a tussle, saying to Cane: “Who do you think you are? You’re a s**t Richie McCaw pal.”
READ MORE: Ten of the worst moments of rugby skulduggery
The article 15 of the biggest moments of sh*thousery in rugby union appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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