InsaneAsylum
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agree'd Sam. As an Aussie, i don't condone his specific behaviour although I like the idea of getting under McCaw's skin
exactly, he asked to be hit(not necessarily kneed in the head) with the amount of crap he tries, he's a serial offender at the breakdown
HahAHA McCaw deserv 2 b hit cuz hez a cheat! Gud on Cooper 4 neeing McCaw's hed. U shud b alowd 2 hit ppl of da ball if day r gud @ doin der job! PoCock & brossow neva cheat lik McCaw. Cooper da man, jst cauz hez betta Dan carter no need 4 da kiwi 2 cry lol
HahAHA McCaw deserv 2 b hit cuz hez a cheat! Gud on Cooper 4 neeing McCaw's hed. U shud b alowd 2 hit ppl of da ball if day r gud @ doin der job! PoCock & brossow neva cheat lik McCaw. Cooper da man, jst cauz hez betta Dan carter no need 4 da kiwi 2 cry lol
In the first game against Australia they are at it again. Piri Weepu set up the first try by going through a hole created by Ali Williams holding Quade Cooper to the ground.
Can be seen right at the start (about 15s in)Go back to the first South Africa game just before Wyatt Crockett scored in the corner. It is hard to believe that Richie McCaw could be four yards offside and get away with it, but there he is holding back the South African lock..
As Nonu was running through another black hole, a prone David Pocock was waving his arms in frustration. McCaw and Keven Mealamu had held him pinned to the ground for 14 seconds.
I remember watching an interview of Richie McCaw. He said he plays to the right to the edge of the rules and adjusts to the referees calls. So if the referee is pinging him then he will change his tact, if not then we continue pushing the law. Cheating or not, I think he is quite smart and thats why people are jealous of him.
At least he doesnt go around throwing cheap shots. He gets aggravated by so many players each game but he never retaliates. Its always his team mates that come and back him.
There is a difference between playing on the fringes of the law on the one hand and on the other going out looking to cheat and continuing to do so if you're getting away with it, particularly with the game played at such pace and there only being 1 ref. I'm not saying Richie is doing one or the other; just saying that it's a subtle difference and the sport should take care not to go the route of becoming a farce.
The rules of rugby are such that the line between cunning play and cheating is a very thin one. It is impossible for a referee to lay down each and every law to the letter all at once; a good player will therefore work out how best to play to the referee's interpretations. Calling McCaw a cheat because he is good at this is unfair.
To my mind, a cheat is someone who deceives the referee at the expense of another individual, for example divers in football.
A thug is someone who commits cheap-shots.
For me, citing is for the above two because they contradict the ethics of sport. Penalising by the referee is for other, more usual infringements, because they are part and parcel of sport. Here, I'm talking of a striker straying offside and getting away with it/ a flanker slowing down the ball... These are law boundaries that must always be tested, the citable ones are wholly unnecessary and dishonest.
For me, there's a difference.