Squirrels go hunting for nuts in winter

THE Australians have a name for it, squirrel-gripping. Charlie Rorke was found guilty of the offence on debut for Stade Francais against Benneton Treviso in the Challenge Cup last weekend.

The man in the middle, Scottish referee Ben Blain, was reported as saying to the 21-year-old flanker from Canberra: “You’ve grabbed a player by the testicles. There is no place for that in the game. Leave the field.’’

Rorke pleaded not guilty, claiming he had grabbed Italy wing Leonardo Sarto by the shorts, as opposed to the privates. The minimum ban for such an offence starts at 12 weeks.

A five-hour hearing ended with Rorke found guilty of a different redcard offence and suspended for a fortnight. Sarto, sent off for punching Rorke in retaliation, got one week.

Blain’s ‘leave the field’ instruction reminds me of a similar one issued more than 40 years ago by another Scottish referee, Norman Sansom, on a historic occasion at Cardiff Arms Park – the first, and only, double sending off in the Five Nations.

Sansom had sent off Wales lock Geoff Wheel followed seconds later by the late Willie Duggan after an argy-bargy. The Ireland flanker always claimed he had not been sent off, that Sansom had merely asked him: “Would you mind leaving the field?”

To which Duggan replied: “I don’t mind if I do. I’m completely b*****ed!”