A question of tradition?

Despite still being in a state of germination this little blog has had its fair share of email – mostly abusive of course. And generally from those who frequent petting zoos for carnal satisfaction (they’re probably French…or Australian). But I was inspired by one note which drew my attention further (I was already well aware of them) to the Super 14 cheer leaders.

“They have no place in the game” said Mr Groan from Twat-head on Claptrap, “they do nothing but pollute the purity of the sport and detract from years of tradition and value”. Now I pondered on this pearl of wisdom for all of about ten seconds before a quick Google search confirmed what I suspected.

Mr Groan is an imbecile.

I bloody said so didn't I

So – investigations have taken place, hands have been held up and Deano has ended up with a three year ban. I can’t say I’m surprised, when I first commented on the whole sordid incident I knew it was only a mater of time before all involved got there acts together to sort it out. I’m pleased for Tom Williams and the reduction of his 12 month ban to 4 months. He was merely a pawn in whole farcical episode and didn’t deserve to be left in the wilderness for as long as initially imposed.

BUT – one thing still angers me about this. I don’t just have a bee in my bonnet, oh no, I’ve got a hacking great hornet in my under-crackers. Dean Richards has come out and said he feels his ban is disproportionate. WHAT? That could quite possibly be the biggest load of cod-shit I’ve heard since Jade Goody (god rest her filthy soul) said she was going to finish the London Marathon after a 20 minute training run and a curry. Alright, the man is an England legend and has a place in most of our hearts as a player and some as a coach. But Quins out and out cheated. Imagine if Nick Evans had slotted the drop goal and Leinster (the eventual bloody winners) got knocked out. There’d be fucking lynchings. The fact that Quins lost the game doesn’t matter one iota. The processes and decisions that lead to the ‘blood-gate’ incident were exactly the same and Richards has been dealt with accordingly.

Look at the affair with the Bath players. Matt Stevens was banned for two years for taking a class A substance. Whilst I would never defend the actions of the Bath lads I’d argue the whole affair with Quins is far worse and – as long as they are thrown out of the Heineken Cup this year – they have received a punishment fitting the crime. Quins, with Deano at the helm, have consciously brought the game into disrepute. In the middle of a match they took illegal actions in an attempt to win the game. Old Matty S had a drug problem off the field which spilled into his career, it’s not as if he was injecting nandrolone into his neck at half time in order to boss the scrums. Disproportionate Deano? Fuck off.