Rugby must mop up these infuriating water carriers
It’s unusual for any issue in rugby to be almost unanimously applauded, but the citing of the two Wasps water carriers falls into that category: one interfered with play, while the other made an unacceptable comment to the referee after a try was scored. This is the tip of the iceberg, as the involvement of multiple water carriers in every Premiership game offends a lot of fans.
Players need to hydrate during a match, but it doesn’t have to be done by coaches or medics, and they don’t need earpieces keeping them in touch with the head coach in the stand. South Africa’s Rassie Erasmus, of course, decided to cut out the middlemen and simply become a water carrier himself, although, as Warren Gatland commented, on at least one occasion he forgot to carry any water!
I’m afraid this is down to World Rugby ineptitude yet again. It has been clear for a long time that getting water or energy drinks onto the pitch is being abused by coaches, and the ruling body has failed to act to nip this in the bud, despite it being their responsibility, as set out in the Officiating section of their website. Their rules are clear, no coach or manager is allowed to act as a water carrier – that’s being interpreted as the head coach, but it should be expanded to cover any member of the club’s coaching team. Trotting onto the pitch carrying a load of water bottles doesn’t require the skills of someone with a coaching qualification!
This is really simple to sort out, and if World Rugby continue to drag their heels, I’d love to see Premiership Rugby take the lead. Instead of the current situation where they can come on during an injury break and after a try has been scored, let’s make it that they need an express invitation from the referee – penalty for breaking that rule is that they are immediately sent to the stands for the duration of the game.
The water carriers should be prohibited from wearing earpieces, and they are restricted to a clearly defined area pitchside when they are not delivering drinks to players, and coaches are barred from entering that zone. Once the drinks have been taken, the water carriers have to immediately head back to their defined area – no loitering around back-heeling the ball, or directing comments at the ref. Their job is to deliver water, and nothing more.
In other sports, coaching from the sidelines is barred – anyone doing it in tennis or golf gets an automatic sanction. Coaches have all week to work with the players, and as professionals, the leaders in the team ought to be able to react in real-time during the game – if a coach has to think for them, there’s a problem!
For the second week in a row we had a director of rugby trying to simply dismiss something because it didn’t suit their purposes. After Rob Baxter’s cod Native American headdress faux pas, this time it was Wasps’ Lee Blackett who decided to tell us he’s not found anyone in the professional game talking about water carriers! Well, I recall one getting involved in a melee at a game between Bath and Sale, and another incident resulted in Gloucester’s Billy Twelvetrees getting yellow carded for shoving a water carrier who was trying to prevent him taking a quick lineout – and those incidents certainly attracted comment.
Blackett’s comments were borderline offensive in another way too: by ‘anyone in the professional game’ he appeared to exclude the opinions of fans as if they didn’t count! I reckon a poll of supporters would show they believe the water carrier situation has got out of hand, and that it’s Blackett who’s out of touch. It isn’t a good look for the game when coaches stick their heads in the sand rather than facing up to real issues.