Blood, threat and tears – controversial moments
IN a long history, rugby has had its fair share of controversies.
Sometimes the tensions boil over and, on other occasions, a scandal can grip the nation.
From red cards to punch-ups and everything in between, here, we look at the most controversial incidents to have taken place.
BLOODGATE
OF course, we must start with the scandal that called into question the very values of the game.
Harlequins architected arguably one of the darkest days in rugby history when they tried to circumvent the blood-replacement law in their Heineken Cup quarter-final match with Leinster.
On April 12, 2009, with Quins trailing by just a single point, and ravaged by injuries, late on in the match, they had no recognised goal kicker, with Kiwi Nick Evans having been substituted earlier in the match.
However, full-back Tom Williams was handed a blood capsule, bought from a fancy dress shop in Clapham, London, and took a knee before biting into it.
It allowed Evans to come on as a blood replacement and take a drop goal, which ultimately failed, with Leinster emerging eventual victors at The Stoop.
In the aftermath, Williams was banned for 12 months, physio Steph Brennan got a two-year ban and was struck off, a decision that was later overturned and Quins boss Dean Richards was banned for three years.
Club doctor Wendy Chapman also landed in trouble after it emerged she deliberately cut Williams’ mouth after the match in an attempt to cover up the wrongdoing.
THE LIONS’ INFAMOUS ‘99’ CALL A strategy which split rugby fans right down the middle.
Legendary Lions captain Willie John McBride in 1974 took it upon himself to create a method by which his side would show solidarity and fight, quite literally, in the face of a Springboks side baying for blood.
McBride was hellbent on fighting fire with fire and, in doing so, concocted the ultimate ‘one-in, all-in’ policy, the now infamous ‘99 call.’
The basic premise was, if any Lions player on the pitch heard the number bellowed, they had to thump the nearest South African to them.
The call needed a buy-in from every player, the logic being that the referee couldn’t send every Lion off if they all threw a punch en masse.
It was utilised a couple of times during the 1974 tour, but most memorably in the third Test at Port Elizabeth, during which the iconic Wales full-back JPR Williams legged it half the length of the field to spark out Springbok second-row Johnnes van Heerden.
TANA UMAGA ON BRIAN O’DRISCOLL
THE ugly opening salvo in the opening Test of the 2005 Lions tour of New Zealand soured the occasion for almost all who witnessed it.
Just moments into the first Test, Brian O’Driscoll, the Lions’ lynchpin, skipper and one of the greatest players in the world at that time, had his tour ended by a ghastly, egregious incident.
Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu’s premeditated spear tackle on the Irishman, tainted what, for many in this part of the world, is deemed the greatest event in the sport’s calendar.
The fallout, too, was unsightly. O’Driscoll was wheeled out for press conferences and Lions coach Sir Clive Woodward was apoplectic with rage, given the All Blacks pair were not punished for the act.
The All Blacks then held a somewhat extraordinarily, defiant press conference of their own, which saw the entire squad bizarrely flank Umaga and coach Graham Henry.
The pair have since said that they have buried the hatchet, but it will still go down as one of the most unsavoury incidents in recent Lions history.
MIKE PHILLIPS SCORES WITH THE WRONG BALL
THE scrum-half was the sort of player Wales fans loved to have on their team, a bruising No.9 with pace, power and a win-at-all-costs mentality.
Those three certainly came to the fore during Wales’ Six Nations showdown with Ireland back in 2011.
With Warren Gatland’s men trailing 13-9 when Jonny Sexton sliced his clearance kick into touch on the full outside of his own 22, Phillips sniffed an opportunity for a quick burst.
He instructed hooker Matthew Rees to fire the ball to him before he blazed past the Irish defence, leaving Tommy Bowe trailing in his wake before touching down in the corner to take the lead, which Wales would ultimately cling on to.
But it was soon highlighted that the ball Rees passed to Phillips was a different ball, thus, in accordance with rugby’s laws, making a quick lineout illegal.
Jonathan Kaplan, the referee, consulted with his assistants after the Irish players were up in arms over the incident. But touch judge Peter Allan, wrongly, assured Kaplan it was the same ball.
TREVOR BRENNAN FIGHTS FAN IN one of the more shocking incidents of recent times, Trevor Brennan became embroiled in a fight with a fan before a match between Toulouse and Ulster back in 2007.
Brennan, who was playing for the French outfit at the time, was being ribbed by a cluster of Ulster fans before the game, supposedly over the quality of the pub he co-owned, De Danu.
At first it was said he played along with the 1,000-strong Ulster fans, taking the chanting in jest. However, something seemed to flip and he charge into the stands before repeatedly smashing supporter Bamford in the face.
Brennan’s club came out in defence of the forward, saying the chorus of chants were personal and aimed at the player’s mother.
Brennan, who was capped 13 times by Ireland in his career, was later fined £17,000 by the ERC and banned for life from rugby at the age of 33.
The ban was subsequently reduced to five years following an appeal.
Patrick
SAM WARBURTON SEES RED ANOTHER massive moment in World Cup history, which many believe sealed the fate of Wales in the 2011 semi-final.
Just 19 minutes into the showdown with France, diminutive wing Vincent Clerc went full steam into Wales flanker Sam Warburton, who adminstered a clumsy tackle.
Clerc’s legs swung up high such was his momentum, while Warburton lost grip of his opposite number while attempting to ground him.
At the time, it was widely acknowledged, by the on-air commentators