Sir, i've got a mark on my finger

This is why they have citing committees - leave it to them
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so are you saying then that every incident in the game should be sent to the citing committee for their review ?

JPB

I would say that thankfully no incidents are ever open or judged on opinions like yours.

I would say that thankfully no incidents are ever open or judged on opinions like yours.
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i dont understand the comment.

So far as I can see, noone has made any specific objection to my analysis so far as i can see.

I would add that I would hope that the IRB would have the gumption to crack down any situations where the game is stopped and the referee notified of a situation in which there appears to have been no actual harm done, and no apparent danger of any further actual harm being done.

To me such a situation is scarcely different to diving or waving cards in football. It has no place in the game.

In situations where the highlighted incident is in retaliation to a deliberate act of provocation, or where the act is purely one of self defence, then it is all the more important that this issue is firmly addressed, in order to stop the game deteriorating to a stage where players are constantly running up to the referee, and concentrating on getting one another sent off or cited, rather than playing the game.

JPB - The issue is you seem to have a bigger problem with players complaining to the referee than you do with players trying to bite each other.

MD

Don't bite my hand off -

C'mon, that was impossible to resist - the gag that is, not the hand!

JPB - The issue is you seem to have a bigger problem with players complaining to the referee than you do with players trying to bite each other.
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Fair enough. If youve got someone flying round the park trying to take chunks out of the opposition then the matter needs to be addressed. I think my point is that the game should not be stopped just because somebody thinks they may technically have a right to have another player cited or punished according to the strict letter of the law. I am saying that such incidents are worrying and need to be discouraged.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/03/19/article-2117297-123D1211000005DC-359_468x286.jpg


What I am also saying (and I have no knowledge one way or the other of whether this is relevant in this situation), is that if such a situation is deliberately engineered by provocation, or if the player has himself been the subject of foul play - especially where he is then left to defend himself - then efforts should be made to stamp out any such practise.

I suppose really I hope that the hooker innocent.

If he has bitten someone other than in self defence then he deserves what he gets though.

I think what I am saying is that unless it was a really violent act then I think it should have been left to the ref to pick up, and ratting on players for technical offenses should also be positively discouraged.

There's no way of definitively knowing which cirumstance is applicable in this instance based on the information available, however the photograph combined with the referee's comment that the ireland player had a "mark" on his hand, does suggest to me that there was no foul play which was designed or likely to inflict serious injury on the opponent.

Presumably we will find out in due course whether this factual assessment of saturday's incident is accurate.

"I suppose really I hope that the hooker innocent."

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He's got previous though. Gouging 3 players eyes. Decent player, but not a decent human being. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he did bite Ferris.

This guy has form when it comes to being a nasty piece of work.

JPB
Just a personal thing, i wont reply to another thread of yours that is so twisted and provocative. Its really just a waste of time. I prefer to stick to the facts with the other lads here. To take care ye.

He's got previous though. Gouging 3 players eyes. Decent player, but not a decent human being. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he did bite Ferris.
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Without knowing the player I have no idea. From what I have seen of him - Haskell's videos etc - he seems like a nice bloke to me. Maybe the mist comes down though. I would have thought that as he has been banned before he would be all the more unlikely to offend again. I hope so anyway.

Dingbatman-
Your option entirely. i dont post articles very often anyway. it's clearly an emotive topic so - particularly after yesterday's discussion - i thought twice before posting it. However, the intention of the article was not to present something in a twisted or provactive way.

What I hope to have done is to put an alternative argument across which may make people think before drawing conclusions.