Am I cynical?

[Vespula Vulgaris]

This smacks of damage limitation to me. The club get to claim the morale high ground whatever the citing officer decides.

https://www.premiershiprugby.com/2018-2019/harlequins-club-statement-dave-ward/

Personally I think he should be gone for a nice long rest.

[Neils]

Totally. Deflection exercise by cynical management.

[RBB]

Nope, you are spot on....regarding DW, if we think about Nathan Hughes got reprimanded for the nonsense that was 'Tweetgate', which as far as I can tell isn't an offence at all then DW should get a lengthy ban. Young had his back to DW so either felt something or saw it hit Carr. DW is guilty and Quins are carrying out a damage limitation exercise, at the same time they are as you say 'taking the moral high ground'.

On a separate note Steve Diamond took unsavoury behaviour to whole new levels - what the hell is going on?

[Vespula Vulgaris]

Nope, you are spot on....regarding DW, if we think about Nathan Hughes got reprimanded for the nonsense that was 'Tweetgate', which as far as I can tell isn't an offence at all then DW should get a lengthy ban. Young had his back to DW so either felt something or saw it hit Carr. DW is guilty and Quins are carrying out a damage limitation exercise, at the same time they are as you say 'taking the moral high ground'.

On a separate note Steve Diamond took unsavoury behaviour to whole new levels - what the hell is going on?

I caught a tweet yesterday saying something worrying about Dimes, but haven't heard any more.  Is it reported anywhere?

[RBB]

Oh yes, you can read and view the whole thing here https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/club-rugby/steve-diamond-sam-peters-sale-sharks-vs-gloucester-premiership-journalist-fight-video-a8704176.html

[Vespula Vulgaris]

That fits with what I read yesterday.  And it's not in the least bit surprising about Dimes, he's always come across as a bully.

[Dgwasp]

No you are not cynical and when did clubs start deciding what punishment to give their own player? If he is cited will they then add any additional ban onto the end of his club ban??

[RBB]

Quins orchestrating a media defence, here is Mike Brown talking about Josh Bassett https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/46717933 from the image, Bassett is planted firmly on the ground and Brown is jumping over/into him....

[Vespula Vulgaris]

That was my first thought when I saw the BBC article.    A concerted campaign to try to deflect from Ward.

[Rifleman Harris]

When do they announce who has been cited? I'm beginning to wonder if there will be any citings from the game.

[NellyWellyWaspy]

When do they announce who has been cited? I'm beginning to wonder if there will be any citings from the game.

Normally done by now, so no citings, maybe none for the whole weekend?

[RBB]

Twitter seems to imply no further action, Ugo Monye having a spat with Andy Goode.

[Dgwasp]

Pretty cowardly from the RFU, clearly not daring to step into something that has caused quite a bit of debate.

Oh well, it doesn't really affect us now the game is over and I guess Bassett isn't being picked up either.

[RBB]

The closest I can find to an outcome of the weekend's disciplinary issues,  seems the authorities felt nothing warranted further action, which is good regarding Josh https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/dec/31/sale-steve-diamond-avoids-hearing-altercation-journalist. However I can't help feeling aggrieved by the inconsistency shown, if we think about Gaby's post match from a citing four match ban last season and Nathan with 'Tweetgate' then this shows a total lack of uniformity in approach to dealing with disciplinary issues. Steve Diamond was an absolute disgrace to the game, however that has been brushed under the carpet. I also think Quins were quick off the mark in terms of damage limitation regarding DW and making a counter claim of sorts, add to that the level of social and press furore, this has caused 'the powers that be' to back away. There needs to be a near term and thorough review of process with clear outcomes, if one isn't forthcoming then rugby runs the risk of descending into loose morals regarding respecting the game, as we see in all too often in football, boxing and cricket. There you go rant over. HNY and a prosperous 2019.

[InBetweenWasp]

Some good debate both on the Ward/Brown stuff as well as the Dimes stuff from Nick Easter on the House of Rugby Pod that Haskell tends to feature on. 

Minty’s view seems to be:

- Ward didn’t intentionally spit either at Young, or anyone else - it was a by product of shouting something at him; he’s always been known by the Quins team for having a tendency to spit when he talks (if you know what I mean)
- The Mike Brown complaints are unfounded (I thought looking at a replay at the time that they were fair, but haven’t looked since) and simply an attempt to deflect attention and play the victim card
- That Dimes is Dimes.  He’s an old school character, the players by and large love him and know that what they see is what they get - He’s taskmaster who takes no prisoners, but who ultimately loves and leads his players and has experience they can draw on - and hence why the likes of Cips, JoC, Yarde and Ashton have all ended up there and seemingly thrived

Personally, I see no issue with a demanding management style - It works for some, not for others and if that environment is not for you then don’t sign.  It’s pretty well documented, it’s not like it’s believed that Sale is a cosy environment and it’s transpiring that it’s not. 

I do take issue with pressure put onto the Medical Staff and Players over HIAs - which was really the root of the original article.  DoRs and Coaches need to accept that if a player claims they are suffering from symptoms, or the medical staff believe they need a HIA that there are no questions asked and they’re trusted to do the neccessary checks and only put players back on the pitch when it’s safe to do so.