Rugby Union Is A Broadsheet, Not A Tabloid Game

THERE COULD be a perception of “Pot – Kettle” in this post – I have after all, a history of ranting at perceived injustices done to Scotland and Scottish teams. However, if so, I apologise.

I am becoming somewhat scunnered by the tabloidisation of rugby journalism these days. There has always been an element of this in Wales and New Zealand, where rugby is the main team sport of the masses, but, in recent years, particularly as England's Gallagher Premiership has aped the excesses of its round ball cousin, these tabloid exclusives etc have mushroomed.

Some of the sound and fury of this season's Guinness Six Nations has been a bit much for the rugby purists:

• Abuse of referees

• Abuse of journalists and players on social media

• Trying to re-officiate matches after the final whistle

Rugby has had its shameful low points in the past, but, like the other “Empire Games” - Cricket and Golf, our game has generally been held to a higher standard of behaviour than some other pastimes.

Rugby adheres to the principle: “The referee is never more right than when he is wrong,” which is why, we accept Law 6 (5) a:

“Within the playing enclosure: The referee is the sole judge of fact and of law during a match.”

That just might be the most-important paragraph in the Laws of the Game. Even when you can see he is wrong – he's right – live with it. Thus, all this hot air about whether or not Maro Itoje scored that try on Saturday is a waste of time; to quote no less an authority than the great Willie John McBride, from the triumphant Lions Tour of 1974: “Forget it, that's history.”

Willie John was dissuading some of the young bucks from wasting valuable drinking time, by re-watching their Test triumph of the previous day. The same reason holds for not trying to work-out if Itoje had or had not grounded the ball. Andrew Brace, with the aid of Joy Neville, had decided he had grounded the ball – dialogue over, it's a try.

The history books show, the All Blacks beat the Lions 18-17 in the First Test of 1959. That was under the 1959 scoring system. However, under the 2021 system, the Lions won 25-18. I don't see the records being changed to reflect this, nor should they be. Let's accept the result and move on.

I am also getting a bit fed-up with specific incidents, perhaps missed by the match officials, being re-run on social media. There might well be a case for the official citing officer to spend Sunday, closeted away in a television studio, going through the match footage to catch incidences of foul play which were missed. Poring over ultra-slow motion footage in the hope of nailing some player for some perceived bit of foul play. But, does this really help the game?

Re-run it perhaps in real time, if a genuinely bad incident shows up, deal with it, otherwise, move on. We have to preserve the sanctity of Law 6 (5) a.

JINGS CRIVVENS, help ma Boab – but Toony caused a bit of a stooshie when he named his team to face the Italians, at BT Murrayfield, tomorrow. He has fairly rung the changes – making seven in personnel and two positional switches, with the back row the only unit to be untouched between the two games.

OK, the Ireland game was a bad day at the office, a match which we were always chasing, with some systemic cracks growing wider by the minute. Therefore, changes had to be made.

The biggie is the Coach's decision to stick with the positional change which was imposed on him last Sunday – Hoggy taking over the lynchpin role at ten from concussion victim Finn Russell.

This decision has got the Scottish rugby family debating. But, since Hoggy is the closest player we have to the Finnster in his ability to pull-off the unexpected X-factor move, and, given Warren Gatland chose the then 21-year-old Hoggy at ten in a couple of matches on the 2013 Lions Tour to Australia, I think our skipper can cope.

Given quick front-foot ruck ball against the Italians, I can see Hoggy igniting our midfield runners in the same manner as we are used to from Finn. Assuming the place kicking duties will not phase him either.

At club level, Scott Steele, who has displaced Ali Price at nine, is used to working with a mercurial, running ten, in young Marcus Smith. I have no fears about him and Hoggy as a unit.

The Italian run of losses has to end some time, and I always worry that it might be against us. However, if we can make a good start and get in front, I think we can secure the morale-boosting win we badly need.

FINALLY, good luck tonight to my favourite current referee – wee Hollie Davidson, who will finally, at the third time of asking, get to control a full PRO14 game, when she takes charge of Munster v Benetton, at Thomond Park, Limerick.

She thoroughly deserves the honour, and she will have the security of Joy Neville talking to her from the TV control truck. I am sure Hollie will do herself and Scottish rugby proud.