Its become a bit of a farce (mind you, so has the England national team)
Thatâs a well-written article. It was behind a paywall for me so hereâs a copy in case anyone else has trouble accessing itâŚ
I wasnât aware that players are allowed to have a KC represent them at any hearing. That in itself is ridiculous for a sporting event, but the fact the referees and other officials arenât afforded the same luxury is crazy.
Watching the game on Saturday I did wonder if the Farrell incident was going through Vunipolaâs mind as his shoulder hit Porterâs head.
Good grief⌠glad that amateur Rugby isnât so taintedâŚ
From my own experiences⌠any âafter-match arbitersâ would argue the toss over a few pints down at the Harbour Inn⌠before everyone exploded into song⌠
Its a religion here and I live 15mins from the Dragons Catalan stadium so often when the wind is right, I can hear the crowd. Every little commune however big or small seems to have a rugby team but its not a sport I have ever got into as we were/are a footballing and cricket family. My 7 year old great nephew has had acceptance for youth training, think its Spurs but will have to check that out.
Thatâs League (a Treize), not Union, a different game altogether and sadly it all started wiith Union going professional imo.
I was long a fan of League, but gave up when I realised that the training methods are fixated with vast muscular upper body, battering ram strength. And since the arrival of the pro era Union has gone the same way.
Any bodily contact above the waist should be banned. I am not running a campaign but will never personally watch another match again under the present regimes.
And I am still on the mailing list of Dragonâs @Shiba and have travelled to their stadium many times, but no more.
Sad, because I found the atmosphere there inspiring. Having only a Wigan scarf to keep my neck warm but having bought my ticket from Perpignan, I sat there amongst all the other Dragonâs fans perfectly at ease as Wigan won the game.
And, as the thread title contains the word âsportâ, and bearing in mind all the current pitchside brain checks at the slightest knock, how in the hell can any country not ban boxing, the only occasion where one person can legally and intentionally cause life threatening damage to the spine at the point where it meets the head? 
In other words, a knockout. Even the old, now banned, bare knuckle fighters did not do that for fear of damaging their hands. How else could those bouts sometimes last for such a long time with no restriction on numbers of rounds?
I never had you down as a streaker, David 
Farrellâs attitude is vile, it always has been and no doubt he feels and will continue to feel he can do as he pleases with impunity thanks in part to his papa but also to the bad attitude of others at the top in English rugby. Ugh.
I was not quick enough for you to notice that and, if you re-read I have amended my comment to more precisely reflect my meaning. 
I didnât know there were two kinds of rugby to be honest. I drive right past the front door of the stadium to get to the airport or the clinic, quite impressive for a smallish city and the fans are known for their friendliness and hospitality apparently.
There has been a rumour to that effect, but Iâve never believed it myself. 
Though some devotees reckon Eddie Warring was the true messiah, though I think thatâs an bit (up ân) over the top.
Rugby league is alive and kicking, The English Suoer League has just agreed a three year deal with SKY for the broadcast of all the games. This will now include video ref for all the games apparently.
RL is doing ok in France, itâs hanging on as usual with great support from both Catalans and Toulouse Olympique.
I go to the TO home games and the occasional Cats game though Iâll probably go to more Cats games at Perpignan next season.
Hurrah⌠common sense has prevailedâŚ
The right decision, though Argentina and Japan matches are pretty well irrelevant. Turning up with a KC has pretty well finished him with me, Hope he didnât loaf him outside for not getting him a result
League started, and is still with a few exceptions confined to, the North of England, though it is the major game in Australia and New Zealand I think and of course, as John has mentioned Perpignan and Toulouse.
There is a club at Villeneuve sur Lot and it was my nearest club but still half a days travel away, but it was there that I learned the outrageous history of the game in France.
Started before the war and mainly in the South, for some reason it was outlawed by the Vichy regime during the war and all the clubs had their assets stripped and awarded to the Rugby Union clubs.
IMO it is a much faster, because more free flowing, game than Union though in the modern era smaller less muscular players are at a distinct disadvantage in both codes now.
The clue lies in the word â professional '. IMO it stopped being a sport at that point .
I think youâre right, Talk about pendulums swinging too far the other way, I remember the fuss when that great Welsh Union player J.P.R. Williams published his autobiography and of course received payment for it, he was banned for life from playing for breaking the amateur code.
He was a medical man but could hardly avoid mentioning rugby in the book, could he? I suppose their reasoning was that he couldnât have sold a book had he not been such a great player. Even more sad for their short sightedness.
This isnât looking goodâŚ
What a dreadful game for England, and great game for Fiji. Steve Borthwick must now be getting rather jittery about the world cup. A couple of weeks away and difficult to see how they can turn this around!
On the other hand,Scotland are looking like theyâre hitting form. Just need to focus on playing the first 40 as they do the second 40, and they could deliver some surprises.
And how about Ireland yesterday, Samoa almost getting there. A bit of a wake up call for Andy Farrell. Certainly werenât looking like the number 1 side, but they were missing some of their regular players.
Overall, think the South Africa train will take some stopping!
A busy few weeks ahead
How can any progressive rugby nation employ an old plodder like Borthwick as head coach ? This is going back to the negative Beaumont era.