Toomua is spot on, kick these time-wasters into touch

IF you think the game is being stuffed up by constant stoppages, with muscle-bound forwards constantly taking a knee before a crucial scrum or lineout to feign an injury, or do up their shoelaces, or get attention to a sore shoulder, you are not wrong. Matt Toomua, the Wallaby 10-12, who had two seasons with Leicester before returning to Australia before the 2019 World Cup, has revealed that deliberate tactics aimed at slowing down play, and giving players a breather – especially big front five forwards – are rife in the pro game. Toomua, who now plays for the Melbourne Rebels, said that when he was at Leicester, and before that with the Brumbies, there were code-words for delaying tactics – and nothing has changed. Toomua said he wanted officials to take a harder line to speed up the game and stop the time-wasting. “We call ‘shoelaces’ and a prop bends down to tie his shoelaces, and everyone has to stop.” The talented back added: “A fly-half will go up to a prop and give the call, and he’ll fall over and say he’s injured.” According to Toomua another variation is the call “cuffo”, when a player indicates that he needs attention for an imaginary sore rotator cuff and gets a physio to come onto the field and ice it. Toomua said: “I’ve done it many times for the Brumbies and Leicester – it was a big part of our tactical approach in both teams.” If fatigue and stamina are to become influential factors in the game again, then referees have to be on red alert and instantly banish anyone they suspect of feigning an injury to the touchlines. Once they are off the pitch, they can be ‘treated’ properly – while their team plays on with 14 men.