Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Phil Vickery cited for stamping
Some will call it careless and possibly accidental, but I personally think he was as accurate as a gymnast on the balance beam and could easily have avoided Privat's leg if he wanted to.
Lawrence Dallaglio did his best to convince the ref otherwise, and despite the touchjudge clearly seeing the incident, Vickery was only penalised on the field with no yellow card being shown.
Foolish actions from English captain Vickery, who now faces a possible suspension of up to six weeks for his retaliation to something that neither the officials or any of us managed to pick up.
Vickery has only played two games for Wasps this season since returning from the World Cup, in which he also got suspended for a silly incident .
Is the World Cup finalist building a dirty reputation for himself, or are they isolated incidents and should be treated as such? As a captain of his country, surely he should be more disciplined though?
Then again, Johnson, Krige, Fitzpatrick - all captains and all known for being guys you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, let alone at the bottom of a ruck.
Posted at 8:43 am | 31 comments
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Viewing 31 comments
Hamish M December 18, 2007 10:40 am
Am I the only one that sees this and thinks it's nothing really? Up until last season (forget about the really old days when men were men and rucks were scary), this would have been at most a "quiet word in your ear mate" incident from the ref - not even a penalty. The IRB's opened a hge can of worms by banning rucking; now people just lie on the wrong side of the ruck cos they know the worst that's going to happen is a penalty, and that's pretty unlikely. Until last season, we rucked them, they rucked us and everyone was happy. I was always coached that everything apart from the head and balls was grass on the floor and everyone knew that, so we knew what would happen when we ventured onto the other side of that ruck. Boo to the IRB for picking this instead of the put in at the scrum for their refs to pick on.
Anonymous December 18, 2007 11:34 am
To be fair thats not rucking. Thats a stamp. It was dirty and cynical play that has no place on the pitch, not now and not in 'the good old days'. I do think that refs have become too sensitive over people being raked when they are killing the ball but this was different
Anonymous December 18, 2007 11:36 am
Hamish is right. Ofcourse it was deliberate but it's nothing, it wasn't even a stamp. It wouldn't have hurt and while i agree it was foul play it doesn't warrant the press it has received (if any) and can't believe it made it onto this sight. Thats just my opinion, i'm sure many of you will disagree. Rugby is going down hill every time a new law is introduced.
Anonymous December 18, 2007 1:10 pm
Vickery was pretty stupid and unproffesional in this incident, as was he in the Worldcup for tripping an opponent.There has never been anything wrong with some good niggle in a game, nor from an honest hard game of rugby. The stupid fool should learn or aquire the art of niggling in such a way that you don't get caught. Martin Johnson was known for being a thug, but very seldemly ever got caught for it, as is Bakkies Botha from SA.Vickery is a meatbrain for blatently doing it in the open in such a foolish way, right in front of the touch judge and the ref, and deserves being cited, not for the incident, but for the stupidity of doing it when he did.
Killian December 18, 2007 1:53 pm
hamish et alI really cannot understand the mindset of people who seem to think standing on players who are in no way near the ball can be a legitimate part of the game. It was a blatant stamp and given the fact that he had been involved prior to that it should perhaps have been a yellow card. I am a huge fan of vigorous but legal rucking and I do agree that some referees are afraid to see any foot contact but what Vickey did was foolish
Anonymous December 18, 2007 2:22 pm
not really a stamp, just walked on him- stupid though these days, you can't get away with it. By the way, does anyone have any fooatge of Cipriani in the 1st half? Missed the game, apparently he was awesome.
Anonymous December 18, 2007 2:39 pm
I don't think anyone has a problem with rucking in the game of rugby(With the IRB aside lol).The problem with this is that it was completely illegal, the guy wasn't anywhere near the legal shoeing area.and it's incidents and idiot players like this who contribute towards the outlawing of legal rucking in the game, with their use of illegal rucking.
Anonymous December 18, 2007 2:59 pm
I have to disagree with the idea that rugby needs 'a bit of niggle' in it. Hard, aggressive yet legal tackling and rucking are enjoyable and show off the strengths of the game. Cheap shots and handbags don't belong in any sport and go against the spirit in which rugby is meant to played.If you get away with it like Johnson, Kay,Clohessey, Parisse, Waugh, Botha et al. do, well then fair play to ya but it should not be part of the sport
Anonymous December 18, 2007 3:01 pm
that was just stupid! what use would that serve in any game? Im not fussed on the moral side but and england captain should know better. I also feel the guy milked it.Simon
elrolo December 18, 2007 3:33 pm
" Johnson, Krige, Fitzpatrick - all captains and all known for being guys you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, let alone at the bottom of a ruck." lol.i dont like Vickery, both his incidents were stupid and pointless
Anonymous December 18, 2007 3:50 pm
Standing on the guys knee nowhere near the ball is not needed in the game. Most people who condone that kind of thing have never played the game. Vickery is 18 stone and standing on a joint like that could end a career. Someone lying on the wrong side then no problem to shoe them out of the way but Vickery should be pretty embarassed by that.
phil-the-manc December 18, 2007 4:00 pm
the first comment by hamish has some good points, but it bears no relevence to the clip. it wasnt a ruck it was a maul. Privet wasnt on the wrong side. Maybe there was an earlier incident that provoked Vickery, but surely it would have been better to get back with a great (legal) hit like the one he put on Magne a few years back. Rather than that, which was a sly cheap shot. Those of you saying 'its nothing' 'it wouldnt have hurt'. You get a guy of over 19 stone to stand, with studs on, on the ligaments on the back of your knee (with as much meaning as Vickery obviosly did there) and see wether 'its nothing'. get a grip. Rugby is brilliant because its HARD but FAIR. that wasnt.
Hamish M December 18, 2007 4:14 pm
OK, fair enough. I've rewatched the clip and it is nowhere near the ball so Vickery shouldn't have done it. I kind of went off on a tangent in my first post (and I stand by everything I said about the IRB)
Anonymous December 18, 2007 4:56 pm
Well said phil-the-manc.Vickery used to be one of the players I aspired to be, (myself being a prop) but these days I find myself liking the guy less and less. Rucking should be allowed. If you lie on the ball on the wrong side, you get a stud on you. Its happened for years.But standing on a guys knee like that, nowhere near the ball and he was on the right side, well Vickery is just an idiot.
Anonymous December 18, 2007 5:29 pm
I think the IRB are stupid to clamp down on the rucking rather than the feeding in the scrums. It's stupid, because for better hookers, their scrum halves wouldn't need to feed it. Anyways, Vickery is a complete NOOB for doing that, he should have been off the pitch, there are a load of chavs in the world that Vickery can go n do that to on a backstreet alley, not on a rugby pitch
phil-the-manc December 18, 2007 6:12 pm
to true, the raging bull was a serious player...but im the same as you, liking him less and less. the trip in the world cup was half defendable (still a daft thing to do) but this was plain dirty. maybe hes trying to get some sort edge to his game because his talents are dwindling but its not doing him any favors. espeicially if he gets a ban. the reason i seem to be sitting at the pc all day on this is because the same thing happend to me on saturday and im now off work on crutches.
Anonymous December 18, 2007 9:48 pm
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Charles December 18, 2007 10:43 pm
C'est toi Antoine ? Moi aussi je poste sue RH...:-)Vickery is getting old and slow and sloppy...That was really unnecessary.
Anonymous December 19, 2007 12:03 am
i cant be arsed to watch it again but it kinda looked like it was on the knee.... so maybe it was just.....on the whole rucking note (which this clearly wasnt) it really is a bit upsetting the new ruling....i mean, it was clear, if you are on the wrong side expect to either come out at a fast pace with the help of a prop's boot, or lose part of your body.....i for one (second row/flanker) took sheer delight when a player was on the wrong side, and it sure as hell felt good if you came off the pitch with a few wounds yourself...always feels like a better game if you ache!
Don December 19, 2007 6:02 am
Please...that guy is an asshole...always known that since the US-England game.He's just a b**ch, stamping on a man NOT in the ruck...tripping Emerick who was going for the try during the world cup...this guy is just plain b**ch.Anyone who actually defends Vickery should consider himself a B**CH as well...
Will Topps December 19, 2007 10:37 am
He can't help it, he's Cornish.Bloody pasty head.
Will December 19, 2007 11:31 am
I have to say I thought Vickery was fantastic back when he captained Gloucester but as far as I'm aware he's one of about half a dozen English players who haven't put in a decent 80 minutes since November 2003 (others? Tindall, Cohen, Balshaw, Kay) The biggest mistake Ashton made, and he's made a few, was making Vickery captain. The tripping incident in the US game showed what a clown he can be. We can only hope the 6 Nations sees a cleaning of the stables...
Chris P December 20, 2007 11:25 pm
2 weeks seems a little low considering there is a former incident that is fairly recentand with the other prop's recent incident getting a month it seems as though this should have gotten a month, it didnt seem to be as much of a high impact attempt to injure, more like revenge for a punch thrown, just kinda saying "i know who u are", but still very un-nessicary and atleast he got 2 weeks, anythign less would have been a disgrace
Chris P December 21, 2007 1:36 am
well then again, it wasnt a real "stomp" he stepped on him with alittle extra force, not a full fledged leg driveing downward sort of motion, but since it could have been severe i still say a month for the english buggaranyone else think its amazing the ref said "doom and gloom" haha thats fantastic
Bubbles December 21, 2007 7:03 pm
Its a blatant foul! Vickery even stomped on the back joint of his knee which could easily rip ligaments and tendons. Vickery destroys rugby by acting so disingenuous as a dirty old man that disregards any rules. That's dirty and its not sportmanslike at all.
Anonymous December 30, 2007 8:03 am
This isnt about rucking or whatever.. it was a blatant stamp.. how did his actions clear the ball. and furthermore phil was the guy that was on the wrong side.. it was just stupid and boo to anyone who says this is fine..
doug o'shea February 04, 2008 2:49 pm
i love the way dallaglio talks to refs. his "doom and gloom" have helped wasps in tricky situations.
Simon King February 18, 2008 7:54 pm
That was a blantent stamping on a player who was no where near the ruck. As i did not see the game i can not coment on any previous fouls by him but he is cirtainly creating a reputation for himself. I personally don't like him and feel that that incident was a stamping on a player whilst Vickery was on the wrong side of the ruck. Disgusting.
evzman March 13, 2008 5:23 pm
i don't think it's as serious as it's built up to be but it was a bit childish.he could of avoided him but people who think it's a yellow are splitting hairs.no offense but cum on guys,he's a tough man not a football player.
Jacko April 06, 2010 10:05 pm
I agree with Hamish. When I played, many years ago I might add, anything except for the head and genitals were fair game. No such thing as substitutes either, if you went off injured, your team played the rest of the game with 14 men!!
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