Source link : https://rugby-247.com/2025/01/07/the-smirk-that-shows-rugby-has-a-diving-problem/
Ollie Lawrence appeared to smirk after Alex Mitchell was sent off following a collision between the pair on Sunday – Lawrence later apologised
There have been concerns for some time over players manipulating the strict laws around head-on-head contact to their advantage, a topic now thrust back into the spotlight following Ollie Lawrence’s apology after Bath’s game at Northampton.
Lawrence was caught smirking on camera after Alex Mitchell, his England team-mate, had been sin-binned for making head-on-head contact with Lawrence in a tackle.
While the contact was enough for Lawrence to stop and go to ground, it was his reaction afterwards which seemed to irritate the home supporters at Northampton, leading to his “on review, I understand the frustration voiced, I’ll be better” apology.
It is worth remembering at this point that the Premiership tracks incidents which may go against ‘Rugby Values’ during each match. The league has been approached by Telegraph Sport to ask if any similar incidents have been reported so far this season, but keen watchers will have noticed more and more players holding their heads to seemingly draw attention of the officials before swiftly carrying on.
Bemoaning play-acting in a certain other sport has been such a crutch of superiority for rugby for decades. For its own integrity to now be questioned naturally leads to fervent discussion, and we have certainly been here before when it comes to discussing simulation in the sport.
Here are the incidents that show rugby has a problem.
Hogg told off
Stuart Hogg receiving a lecture from Nigel Owens during the South Africa v Scotland pool match at the 2015 Rugby World Cup has to be one of the most high-profile examples, after Hogg was charged down by Tendai Mtawarira and did his best to convince Owens the prop’s actions warranted a penalty. Owens responded: “Dive like that again and come back here in two weeks and play, not today.” The match was being played at St James’ Park, home of Newcastle United.
White goes down after a flick
Nothing probably tops the flick to Nic White’s face by Faf de Klerk in 2022 when it comes to outrageous diving. The fleeting contact left White sinking to his knees, with the former South Africa captain John Smit lamenting that the Australian had “killed a bit of rugby’s soul”.
Sexton’s wink
We have had Rassie Erasmus claiming that France “do simulate sometimes a little bit, which is clever”, Damian Penaud lying on the turf for some time in a Six Nations match against Wales before getting back to his feet when he realised no penalty was coming, and a wink from Johnny Sexton after Liam Williams was shown a yellow card during the 2023 Six Nations.
Farrell calls England team-mate pathetic
Even Owen Farrell, tough as they come, has been accused in the past of over-egging a collision during the match between Saracens and Harlequins when Luke Northmore seemed to catch him legitimately high following through with a charge down. Amusingly, when Bevan Rodd took a tumble during Saracens’ game against Sale last May, it was Farrell who could be overheard over Luke Pearce’s ref mic slamming Rodd as “pathetic”. Pearce followed up with “I’m not sure we need a Lionel Messi dive”, but even for an incident as blatant as Rodd’s, the prop was still not penalised for simulation.
Nche penalised
World Rugby went as far to crack down on such incidents back in 2015, insisting that “any player who dives or feigns injury in an effort to influence the match officials will be liable for sanction”. Incidents of this are few and far between, although Ox Nche, the South Africa prop, was notably penalised at a line-out during a United Rugby Championship match last season for feigning an injury so that time could be stopped for the TMO to check a potential penalty incident in favour of the Sharks. Instead, Nche was penalised by referee Ben Whitehouse.
Solutions needed
Accusing players of play-acting when they spend every minute on the field normally being battered is a difficult line to tread. Yet this conversation around gamesmanship or simulation or diving, however you want to describe it, keeps cropping up season to season.
Perhaps it will take more penalties like the one against Nche, and certainly punishments for flops such as Rodd’s, for this to be taken more seriously.
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Author : rugby-247
Publish date : 2025-01-07 19:42:29
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