Wales coach Rob Howley sent home from Rugby World Cup amid betting allegations

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

https://www.skysports.com/rugby-uni...from-rugby-world-cup-amid-betting-allegations



Not a good look

 

[oj121]

Could be a blessing in diguise? Replaced by Jones who is a better attacking coach and more adapted to the modern game? Could be equally damaging though

 

[Groundhog]

Posted this in two threads but it probably deserves it's own (so delete elsewhere where necessary mods).
Weird weird news. He arrived with the team and was gone by the welcome ceremony.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Bad for him and his reputation but good news for Wales - Jones is waaaaaayyyyy better

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Yeah, even though Jones is better this isn't good for Wales. He's going to have to implement another person's gameplan, no way they change anything now, and I doubt he'll have much autonomy at all at all, he'll basically have been told what Howley did and to try his best to copy it.

Wonder if it was just an innocent bet or if something sinister will come out in the comi g days?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Wonder if it was just an innocent bet or if something sinister will come out in the comi g days?

Bet on Wales to score zero tries in their group games - pretty much nailed on with him in charge of attack.

 

[MikeTheNative]

This makes sense to me. Must have been putting it on Wales scoring under 2 tries a game....

 

[Leinster Fan]

Jones is an upgrade but this isn't really great for Wales, the players will be used to Howley and Jones will basically have to replicate what Wales have been doing instead of bringing many of his own ideas to the table.

 

[oj121]

I dont know. Daviesx2 Patchell Parkes JD will all be used to his style. Backline is very Scarlet ex Scarlet heavy if you then look at North Williams and Halfpenny....

 

[MikeTheNative]

With less than a week to the first game I doubt much will change, however over the tournament though we might start to see a bit more creativity and the ball being run out wide in attack.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

So a quick skim through the relevant WR rules suggests it could be something as innocuous as betting on the NZ v SA game, incredibly stupid though as the same rules apply to the 6nations.

I dont know. Daviesx2 Patchell Parkes JD will all be used to his style. Backline is very Scarlet ex Scarlet heavy if you then look at North Williams and Halfpenny....

It's not that simple though, his boss clearly doesn't want that style of rugby and will limit Jones massively by making him adhere to his current systems and formations, and rightfully so. They're days from the world cup, the time for innovation is long gone. At best Jones will be able to identify weaknesses in the opposition better than Howley and try to capitalise on that but I can't imagine the guy will be doing much more than introducing a new drill here and there.

Ultimately we don't know the inner workings of the Welsh set up so it's all speculation but I reckon the best case scenario here is that'll have little to no effect.

 

[Every Time Ref]

I dont know. Daviesx2 Patchell Parkes JD will all be used to his style. Backline is very Scarlet ex Scarlet heavy if you then look at North Williams and Halfpenny....

They won't change it at this late stage though, I agree with the above, Jones will be being asked to imitate Howley as closely as possible, otherwise it'll be chaos.

I'm sure it isn't a full on betting scandal. Probably just a case of putting a tenner on NZ vs Tonga or something innocuous like that - absolutely should be punished, zero tolerance as it should be, but ultimately would mark him only as an idiot rather than a scumbag.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

I'm sure it isn't a full on betting scandal. Probably just a case of putting a tenner on NZ vs Tonga or something innocuous like that - absolutely should be punished, zero tolerance as it should be, but ultimately would mark him only as an idiot rather than a scumbag.

If it is that scale then he's an absolute moron.

 

[Every Time Ref]

If it is that scale then he's an absolute moron.

100% agree. Would rather have my suspicions confirmed that he is a moron than learn that he is actually corrupt though ...

I can't imagine he made any money either way though, anyone who's watched his teams play can tell he doesn't understand rugby!

 

[Scotty]

If it is that scale then he's an absolute moron.

I know everyone knows you dont bet yourself... i bet EJ still has some contacts out there to bets on for him

Stupid by Howley and i do agree with the rule. Great final act as a Wales coach.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Yeah, even though Jones is better this isn't good for Wales. He's going to have to implement another person's gameplan, no way they change anything now, and I doubt he'll have much autonomy at all at all, he'll basically have been told what Howley did and to try his best to copy it.

Wonder if it was just an innocent bet or if something sinister will come out in the coming days?

So we can expect to see Jones putting a cheeky tenner on a game or 2 then?

 

[Leinster Fan]

Seems very unlikely that this is anything sinister, as others have said it's likely just betting on some other game.

Incredibly stupid though and I agree with the rules, there shouldn't be any tolerance for something like this even in relatively innocuous cases.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

£4,000 worth of bets apparently

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Prob similar to what Phil Blake at tigers.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Wonder if the funs stopped?