Always a Wasp

Behind the scenes with a rugby citing commissioner

Telegraph Sport is given exclusive access to the inner workings of the Premiership?s disciplinary processes
Charles Richardson, Rugby Reporter 8 April 2024 ? 7:00am


Standing on the concourse of a Premiership rugby ground on match day, awaiting the arrival of the citing commissioner ? and he is late. Is that an offence worthy of a red card?

Given that the commissioner in question has been hospitable enough to grant Telegraph Sport exclusive access to the inner workings of the Premiership?s disciplinary processes, probably not. Besides, it is the commissioner himself who decides.

With kick-off just over an hour away, I am here to take a look behind the curtain at the role of citing commissioners ? about the only subsection of rugby?s off-field, match-day officials who have not come in for scrutiny over the past fortnight.

These are 22 officials, all part-time employees of the Rugby Football Union, scattered around the country, who are paid to watch Premiership, Championship and Premiership Women?s Rugby matches every weekend and highlight anything untoward in a post-match report. Some are ex-players, some come in from other unions ? there is a Hungarian officer currently ? and some carry out duties in European competitions, too, but all are united by a keen eye for foul play.

?After my playing days, if I had a pound for every time someone said ?poacher turned gamekeeper?,? today?s commissioner, having arrived, tells Telegraph Sport. ?There are a few ex-players. I absolutely love it. It keeps me involved in the top end of the game. I end up bumping into loads of mates.?

Before the pleasantries among friends, however, business must commence. First stop, the television truck, where the commissioner drops off a USB stick to one of the broadcaster?s technicians. It is this stick and a soon-to-be-created WhatsApp group around which the entire process revolves. During today?s match, the citing commissioner will spectate alongside the official timekeeper in the press gantry, and when he spots an incident that requires further attention, he will note the time in the match and where on the pitch the incident took place, and ask the broadcaster?s technician to save all the angles as clips on his USB stick. Then, from the comfort of his own home, the commissioner will be able to come to a considered judgement on whether to cite a player.

As kick-off approaches, it is time to meet and greet the respective team managers in the tunnel. A less experienced commissioner might have to introduce himself, but not this particular officer, who is seemingly known by all and sundry. ?Hopefully, they genuinely like me!? the officer says, when I ask if they are just being convivial because of his commissioner status. ?If I cite someone, maybe not.?

The commissioner reminds the two team managers that they can flag any issues to him after the match. The deadline for referrals from clubs is 12 hours, with the commissioner given a further 12 to cite. For a snapshot into how the duties of a commissioner have eased, this particular officer has cited just one player in the past two years; the last citing in the Premiership for an incident missed by the on-field officials came nearly a year ago (an Ellis Genge tackle on Tom Curry in April 2023).

?Howlers don?t happen very often,? the commissioner says. ?There are so many different levels now with the referees, the assistants and the TMO. We?re more of a safety net, to be honest. The only other time is if the on-field officials decide that something is a yellow card and we look at it and think, ?Hmm, it?s a bit worse than that. It needs upgrading?. If it?s straight red, we don?t get involved, that gets automatically dealt with. All we have to do is sort the clips out to send to David [Barnes, RFU head of discipline] because they?ll have to write up a report. We only get involved if it?s a penalty or a yellow that deserves a red.

?It used to be gouging, punching; you name it, it went on. Now, it?s high tackles, tip tackles. There are too many cameras to get away with anything else.

?I?ve been a citing commissioner for 10 years. Beforehand, I was on the judicial panel. The citing officers used to send the naughty boys to us and then I was asked if I?d like to become a citing officer. I?d just packed up playing so I jumped at the chance.?

With the pre-match preparation complete, we ascend to the press gantry. A packet of nuts and a bag of mint humbugs suffice for dinner and with the match in full swing handbags erupt on the field. The commissioner?s attention is caught and the binoculars are raised. ?No one is going to throw a punch,? he says, almost egging the players on. ?They know damn well they?re going to get into trouble!?

At the end of the first half, the commissioner scribbles ?NFP? into his notebook: No foul play. Had there been any, he explains, he would have waited until half-time to put it into the WhatsApp group. After all, his undiluted focus needs to be on the match while it is taking place.

?We have something called the ?pink card test?,? he says. ?We are on the lookout for anything that?s a yellow card going up to a red. That?s the easiest way to describe it.

?I write down every foul play incident. You wouldn?t cite a deliberate knock-on or a collapsed maul but they are foul play. It?s about causing injury ? which we do look at ? and we look at the level of danger. A deliberate knock-on is not dangerous; collapsing a maul could be, but invariably isn?t.

?High tackles and the other thing which has been creeping in, people attacking the lower limb. Dissent... if a player tells a referee to ?f--- off? then you?d hope that it was dealt with there and then but if it wasn?t then it would come under my remit.?

This is not a chummy, jobs-for-the-boys affair, either. Barnes told Telegraph Sport that accountability was one of the principal reasons for paying their citing officers, although having officers delisted is ?very rare?.

?Often, it is not always about the decision, but more offering a rational explanation of it,? the former Bath prop says. ?Most are pretty good and do exactly what we ask.

?And that works both ways. The citing commissioners like going to games so we have kept their roles in-person, whereas World Rugby, for internationals, have citing officers working completely remotely.?

The commissioner adds: ?There is accountability ? 100 per cent. If you?re not doing your job properly and you don?t pick stuff up then you either don?t get given games, or you get dropped down a level to the Championship or women?s matches.

?If there?s something a bit controversial where you?re not sure, we discuss it in a WhatsApp group. We?re probably about 90 per cent always singing from the same songsheet.?

The songsheet for this match, just as it did at half-time, sings ?NFP?. All that remains is to check in with the two team managers ? who, on this occasion, have nothing to add ? before swinging past the broadcast cabin to collect that precious USB and heading off into the night, with 24 hours to file a post-match report which will be quite bare ? as ever.

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🐯 BREAKING: Leicester Tigers breached the salary cap by ?47,136.91 in 2019/20.

They will be fined ?1 for every ?1 overspend

Premiership Rugby clubs post losses of almost ?25m for 2022-23 season

Saracens posted biggest losses of over ?5 million, while Newcastle Falcons have not yet made their finances for 2022-23 period public
Ben Coles, Rugby Reporter 29 March 2024 ? 1:17pm


Nine of 10 Gallagher Premiership clubs have posted financial losses which total almost ?25 million for the 2022-23 season.

Newcastle Falcons have yet to publicly post their results for the last financial year but of the data available, nine clubs cumulatively made a loss of around ?23.5 million.

Saracens posted the biggest loss at ?5,295,310, with the club?s turnover of ?23,206,354 falling well short of their ?28,559,147 budget.

Bristol Bears, backed by the billionaire Steve Lansdown, finished with a total loss of ?4,554,814. Harlequins posted the highest turnover, ?26,813,85, but had the largest budget at ?30,392,791, resulting in a loss of ?3,648.893.

Gloucester produced the best results due to having a budget of ?18,291,675, which was marginally higher than the club?s turnover of ?18,162,660, making an eventual loss of ?393,079. Two other clubs produced losses which were below the half a million figure, with Sale making a ?439,294 loss and Northampton a ?467,836 loss.

Sale notably had the lowest turnover, ?11,735,339, but also the lowest budget of ?16,496,292. They were also one of only two clubs, along with fellow Premiership finalists Saracens, to produce a positive net financing costs figure of ?258,953.

The results also disclose the number of people employed by each club, with Exeter recording the highest figure of 354 of which 156 were coaches and players. Bristol employed the fewest number of people (155) and number of players and staff (87).

Exeter?s financial results, with a loss of ?3,994,469, included the hotel built on site at Sandy Park, which made a loss of ?2m over the course of the financial year. The hotel has since been sold off, with Exeter?s chairman and chief executive, Tony Rowe, buying an undisclosed stake in the Sandy Park Hotel back in December 2022 to help pay off the club?s Covid-19 loans.

Exeter said at the time: ?The fee paid for the shares by Mr Rowe not only provides an injection of capital to keep cashflow going, but will also help service substantial debts accrued by Exeter Rugby Club due to the impact of the Covid pandemic in 2020. Directors will use ?their best endeavours? to retain ?at least? 26 per cent shareholding in the hotel company.?

Premiership Rugby has been contacted for comment.
Analysis: Rugby still feeling Covid after effects

Perhaps the main factor to consider when analysing the latest accounts for the nine Premiership clubs, with Newcastle still to come, is that teams across the league are still feeling the financial effects of the pandemic, hit hard by that loss of matchday revenue.

Seeing that amount of red on a spreadsheet naturally leads to concern but among the numbers there are some positives, such as Northampton posting a record turnover of nearly ?22 million, up by a million on the previous year. Even a club in as strong a position as Northampton is still going to be confronted with costs, with their cash balance dropping due to the construction of the club?s new High Performance Centre.

The Premiership is still reeling from the loss of Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish during the previous season and, predominantly, clubs appear to be cautious. Take Sale?s budget, around ?16.5 million, being almost half of that of Harlequins (?30.4 million).

The same long-term concerns remain. Certain clubs relying on the large investment of owners with deep pockets, a TV deal which lags far behind the money paid for the rights to the Top 14 in France, the fact that clubs with excellent attendance figures and large capacities ? Leicester, Northampton, Gloucester ? are occasionally falling short of making a profit. Not forgetting that the salary cap ceiling is set to rise next season from ?5 million to ?6.4 million ? the timing of which seems highly questionable ? or how the Covid-19 loans from the government will be repaid.

These are all existing issues which require long-term solutions but right now, the aim across the Premiership appears to be to create stability.

At the same time, sources close to the league are optimistic about an increase in supporter numbers this season at matches, with gate numbers continuing to climb and up by around five per cent on the previous season. The more people back in grounds, the more revenue. Right now, every extra pound feels important.

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🐝 WASPS XV

1) Opoku-Fordjour 🦈
2) Oghre 🐻
3) Koch 🇿🇦🦈
4) Launchbury 🃏
5) Fisilau ❌
6) T. Willis 💫
7) J. Willis 🚽🚽
Barbeary 🛁
9) Porter 🃏
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What could have been?

BREAKING: Mateo Minozzi announces his retirement from rugby at the age of just 27.

Minozzi burst onto the scene at the 2018 Six Nations when he was nominated for Player of the Championship.

The hot stepper moved to Wasps a year later and then to Benetton in 2022.

Quite a startling article - many pictures so link is - https://news.sky.com/story/is-there-a-link-between-cte-brain-disease-and-violent-crime-13075134



The human cost of brain disease hitting one of the world's most popular sports

The question over whether CTE is linked to violent crime has come to the fore after numerous incidents of violent ex-football players. Most experts say it is hard to say what motivates someone to commit a crime, but the symptoms CTE causes could all contribute.
Martha Kelner

US correspondent @marthakelner

Monday 19 February 2024 12:46, UK


Is there a link to CTE and crime?

Why you can trust Sky News

When Noah Green, a 25-year-old with no known history of violence, crashed his car into a barricade at the Capitol building in Washington DC, killing one police officer, before lunging at others with a knife, his own family were grappling for answers.

"My heart just sank," his mother, Mazie Green, tells me. It was a murder, which, on the face of it, had nothing to do with American football.

But three years on and speaking publicly for the first time since that day, Mazie says she now believes it has everything to do with American football.


Green was shot dead by responding police, and in the days after the killing the FBI recommended that Mazie submit Noah's brain to be analysed.

The diagnosis came back months later, indicating Green had stage one Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, more commonly known as CTE.

It's a brain disease caused by repetitive blows to the head and it afflicts participants of contact sport, including American football. Symptoms include aggression, paranoia and problems controlling impulses.


"Noah took big hits," Mazie says. At Alleghany High School in rural Virginia, Green had played in defence and was voted most valuable player and he later played for Christopher Newport University.

Teammates recall him being dependable and good-natured but Mazie says she noticed changes after he suffered several head injuries.

"He wanted to be tough, to prove himself," Mazie says, "But there were changes. He would start wearing blankets around his head and I thought it was a teenage thing, but it was because he was so sensitive to the light. Then he would lose his keys and he forgot how to cook, prepare his meals.


"After that, he started with these really bad headaches. One day he said 'I don't know what's wrong with me, mum, I've lost 20 pounds.... I feel like I need to leave. I've got to get out of the country. They're going to kill me, the FBI, they're going to kill me.'



Officer William Evans, the police officer who Noah Green killed, left behind two young children. I ask Mazie if she has any message for his family.

"Officer Evans should not have died that day," she says, "Noah should not have died that day. Someone has to take the responsibility for telling parents what to do if something's just not quite right with those kids that are out there playing football for entertainment."

Shannon Terranova, the former spouse of Officer Evans and mother of his two young children, said: "I want to be mindful of all who are impacted by this real-life horror; but it is difficult for me to comprehend any rationalisation of what happened to Billy and the events that led up to his death. I appreciate the efforts in bringing awareness to the long-term implications of bodily trauma caused by sports injuries. However, nothing can justify what Billy's co-workers and family experienced, saw, and felt on April 2 2021, and every day since."

Christopher Newport University declined to comment on Noah Green's case. Alleghany High School did not respond to Sky News's request for comment.

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The National Sports Brain Bank in Pittsburgh analyses donated brains for evidence of CTE. 1:16
How CTE is diagnosed


The question over whether CTE is linked to violent crime has come to the fore after numerous incidents of violent ex-football players.

Former San Francisco 49ers star Phillip Adams shot dead six people in an explosion of violence in 2021.

He murdered doctor Robert Lesslie, his wife, Barbara Lesslie, and two of their grandchildren, Adah, 9, and Noah, 5 at their home in South Carolina.

He also killed James Lewis and Robert Shook, who were working on an air conditioning unit at the house. Analysis of Adams' brain showed he had severe CTE.

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Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a condition caused by repetetive head trauma. 1:56
Is CTE linked to violence?


Kellen Winslow, another former NFL player, was convicted of multiple rapes in 2021.

His lawyer argued for his sentence to be reduced because of what he says was head trauma suffered on the football field. That potential mitigating factor was rejected by a judge.


Most experts say it is hard to say definitively what motivates someone to commit a crime, but the symptoms CTE causes could all contribute. More research into the causes of CTE and what factors might make some people more susceptible is under way.

Sky News was given access to the national sports brain bank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where former professional and amateur American footballers are being urged to donate their brains for study.

Inside the histology laboratory, Dr Julia Kofler slices open a brain with a knife to show me the cross-section.


It is impossible to diagnose CTE with the naked eye so she takes a tiny sample of the brain tissue and loads it onto a slide so it can be analysed under the microscope.

I ask if she thinks there is a link between CTE and violent crime. "It's really difficult to draw any conclusions about what motivates someone to commit a crime based just on their pathology," she says, "but we certainly know that neurodegenerative diseases can cause all sorts of different behavioural changes and changes in executive function and judgement, so it certainly could have contributed."


'We watched him lose himself'

Karen Kinzle Zegel is one of those fighting for more research. Her son, Patrick Risha, had CTE and died by suicide aged 32. He had played American football throughout his childhood and at university.

"We watched him over 10 years, sadly lose himself, lose his dignity," she says, "He was paranoid, he was argumentative.

"One time there was an incident with him and he said a homeless guy attacked him in Pittsburgh and he broke his hand punching this person. The rage he had was definitely scary."


Through her organisation Stop CTE, Karen is campaigning for the brains of those who commit mass violence to be analysed for traumatic injury.

"Every time we're looking at the symptoms like 'they lost a job, they, broke up with their girlfriend'.

"Everybody wants to know why, why would someone take another person's life? But if you've dealt with somebody whose brain became unwired you see the lack of empathy. They don't care about other people, sadly.

"We're not going back to the root cause, which could be a damaged brain."


Concerns about brain injuries have contributed to the growth of flag football, a lesser contact sport which means fewer big hits and not an obvious danger.

But the popularity of the NFL as a spectator sport is enduring. Last week's Super Bowl final was the most-watched TV event in American history.

But for its stars, the damage may already been done. The human cost of the richest sport league in the world is far too difficult to count.

Sky News contacted the NFL for comment about our report. In response, the NFL provided details of the funding they are giving into CTE-related research, mental health support and the physical safety measures they say they are taking in the sport.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2024/01/31/saudi-arabia-buy-leicester-gloucester-northampton-newcastle/

Sorry not in a position to cut and paste.

Jack Willis: I felt England moved the goalposts ? but I am growing at Toulouse

Exclusive: Back rower has seen 'bit of a shift' in attitude to international eligibility, but it has not affected his commitment to Top 14
Charlie Morgan, Senior Rugby Writer 21 January 2024 ? 8:00am


Life is good for Jack Willis. He and his fianc?e, Megan, having got engaged by the sea three months ago, welcomed a daughter to the world last week. Along with Enzo, their two-year-old boy, the family are thoroughly enjoying the south of France.

Willis was relieved to return to the pitch against Toulon two days before Christmas, having recovered from neck surgery. He remains enormously grateful to Toulouse, the club he helped to the Top 14 title, and is itching to help them win a sixth European crown.

But the 27-year-old also wears his heart on his sleeve. At the mention of the World Cup, he cannot help but be honest. Willis charged over to score with the final action of England?s 71-0 win over Chile. Days later, however, his tournament was finished after that one appearance. Willis woke up with decreased strength in his left arm, yet endeavoured to push on and put himself in the frame to face Samoa. A bang in training made matters worse and scans revealed a bulging disk that was pressing on the nerve supply.

?I spoke to the surgeon on the Tuesday night, I think,? Willis remembers. ?Then I was gone at 6am the next morning back to England to see if an injection would work. I didn?t get to go back into the team environment or get to say goodbye to everyone.?


It is not unfair to suggest that the hollow experience represented another dip in a rollercoaster year, featuring the devastating low of Wasps? demise and the dizzying high of beating La Rochelle in the Top 14 decider. Willis started four Six Nations games but was starved of World Cup game time. Candidly, he wonders whether he ?truly added to the group?.

Upon signing for Toulouse last November, Willis became a pawn in a lively debate over England eligibility rules. Discussions have hardly died down since, with the predicament of Henry Arundell, who opted to stay at Racing 92 rather than return to the Premiership, only amplifying opinions on either side. Willis describes two aspects of his situation powerfully. Firstly, he felt as though eligibility goalposts were being moved during his negotiations over an extension with Toulouse. Secondly, Willis reiterates the uncertainty that he and Arundell, previously of London Irish, were thrust into.

?For me, the choice to stay here was based on being at a place where I was going to be pushed to be the best I can be,? he says. ?There has been a bit of a shift on whether the rule might change. When I was signing, it was heading towards that it was going to change. Now it has done the complete reverse.

?I wouldn?t change my decision because I feel I made the right one for me, my career and my family. I think one thing that sometimes gets swept aside is the fact that every player at Wasps, Worcester and London Irish was let down by the system of that club and let down quite significantly to the point where you couldn?t provide for your family in the months that followed.

?There are friends of mine that still haven?t found another job. And you don?t get over that quickly or regain trust immediately. Toulouse took me in when I didn?t have any other offers in England. The opportunity they?ve given me is incredible and I?ll always give everything I?ve got to the club.?

Uniquely, during last year?s Six Nations, Willis had been something of a guinea pig for the potential logistics if Rugby Football Union rules were altered and players from foreign leagues were able to represent England again. He had to hop the Channel a few times, and was overlooked for the opener against Scotland after missing the first week of training, but believes the system can work.

?I?d definitely do it again,? Willis confirms. ?That?s the first thing I?d say. The second thing is that Toulouse couldn?t be more supportive. After I wasn?t selected for the Scotland game because I hadn?t trained the week before, I was gutted. But the club said ?look, what do you need to do?? They asked if I wanted to go back for eight weeks and be there all the time. We had a really open dialogue between me, Richard Hill [the England team manager] and the guys here.

?Steve [Borthwick, the England head coach] and Hilly were brilliant and so were Toulouse. We showed that it can work, but the RFU have to make decisions on what they feel is best for the
Renowned as a crafty, disruptive defender, Willis wants to broaden his horizons as a back rower. ?If I look back at some of my early Wasps games, it would have been ?catch the ball, head down, keep hold of it?,? he laughs. ?Here, if you want to add to attack as well as defence, you have to open up your game.? He is doing plenty of post-training extras with David M?l?, an assistant coach to Ugo Mola, and admires how Toulouse encourage players to push boundaries in team training sessions.

Willis already appears to have developed a strong affinity with supporters. He rates the Top 14 final at Stade de France, a tense affair clinched by Romain Ntamack?s wonder try, as the best atmosphere he has ever experienced. Raucous celebrations followed and Willis does not mind admitting that he welled up during a victory parade when, from the team bus, he saw around 25,000 people crowding the city?s Le Capitole square.

Earlier this month, Borthwick expressed his desire for Arundell and Joe Marchant to return to Premiership clubs, from Racing 92 and Stade Francais, respectively, to become available ahead of the 2027 World Cup. Contrary to Will Carling?s claim that England duty is slipping from the ?pinnacle? of players? ambitions, Willis stresses that wearing a white shirt ?will always be a priority?. So too, though, will be playing in big club games.

With the added responsibility of a young family, Willis says that any potential move could not be rushed. ?Whatever opportunity is there to bring me back, it would have to be right in a lot of ways,? he adds. ?That is always the case when you?re moving club. Here and now, after all the turbulence I had last year, I?m enjoying having a bit of stability over the next couple of years and focusing on how good I can be for this club.

?It?s not as easy as saying ?move your life back to England now?. There have to be other factors that line up. One thing I want to be clear on is how much I will always want to play for England. I realise how competitive it is. It was clear to me, with the stage I?m at and from the little involvement I had at the World Cup, that I need to focus on my improvement so I can hopefully come back ? or [be ready] if the rule changes ? and be in a position to feature more regularly. That?s got to be me playing rugby, wherever I am, and improving each game.?
Jack Willis salutes Toulouse's fans after their rout of Ulster in the Champions Cup this month; Jack Willis: I felt England moved the goalposts ? but I am growing at Toulouse


The biggest compliment one could pay Willis is that he has truly enriched a squad decorated by stars such as Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille, Emmanuel Meafou, Thomas Ramos, Ange Capuozzo and the brightest of them all in Antoine Dupont. This weekend against Bath, Willis starts in a back row that also features Anthony Jelonch and Fran?ois Cros. Blair Kinghorn, the dashing Scotland full-back, is settling nicely, too. Toulouse lost to Leinster in a Champions Cup semi-final last year, with Willis impressively combative in defeat. By beating Bath, having already thrashed Cardiff, Harlequins and Ulster, Mola?s side should be at home for the last 16 and later in the competition. Willis points out that a huge league encounter against Racing 92 precedes the Six Nations, a tournament that could be a difficult watch for him.

?I?m an England supporter as well as someone who is lucky enough to have played for them,? he says. ?I?ll always be keeping an eye on how things are going, wishing the boys in the squad and the coaches the best for the tournament. But I can?t get too bogged down with it. I can?t watch it thinking, ?I?m missing out?. I have to think, ?This is my reality.??

?I feel comfortable with the decision I?ve made. If I?m honest, things did shift around. I thought that things may still have been open and things change, but that?s the way the world works. I?m very grateful for the opportunity I have now.?

The opportunity Willis has now is to continue excelling for Toulouse and to remind those in England, and everywhere, of his rare ability to influence games. Anything else is beyond his control.