RUGBY UNION

[Rimshot]

Cieran Healy is a thug...or at least that's what the papers would be saying if he were a footballer. Don't get me wrong, I like Rugby, enjoyed playing it at School ( would have preferred Football but had no choice) but the hypocrisy of the Sports writers knows no bounds when it comes to comparing the two. They are only too keen to contrast the positives of RU with the negatives of Football but if a Premier league player had done what Healy did he would have been branded for life as a hooligan and vilified by the media.

Today there's scarcely a mention of it and the moronic Keith Wood , a former captain of Ireland, was actually trying to minimise its seriousness on Saturday. Rugby has many things about it to admire; trying to break someone's ankle, then repeatedly swinging the forearm against defenceless opponents isn't among them.

[Poshgill]

Totally agree Rimshot. It was a disgusting and outragous stamp that could have ended a players career. You only have to see a Rugby team out on the town after a local match. Yes they dress smartly in blazers and ties, but they are drunken thugs that love a dust-up. They are no better than footballers but the perception is, becuase it is a 'gentlemans' game, then they are just good old boys enjoying themselves.

It was the same with the 'bloodgate' incident. That was blatent cheating and if that had been any other sport, the country would have been in uproar. Reality was, the press and media really were nit bothered. Like you, I like rugby, but this latest incident really does leave a nasty taste.

[Elgrande]

He has been cited and will probably get a six week ban, not three games. At least if the Ref makes a decision ten players don't surround him and shout foul abuse and if one does question a decision too much then the penalty gets moved forward 10 metres. Yes it was thuggery, yes Woods tried to justify it, but to call them thugs and say they are no better than footballers, not a balanced or well judged opinion! Can you imagine the fuss and writhing that would have happened if it had been a prima donna footballer!

[Rimshot]

I can imagine it and you're right on that point but the media would have gone ballistic. You can imagine the headlines; end of football as we know it, players completely out of control, Chairman of PFA in sackcloth and ashes. I don't agree with Posh's characterisation of Rugby in general but he's right about the 'bloodgate" affair. It was cynical,preplanned and organised cheating which Rugby managed to shrug off. All the malefactors are back in the game at senior level.

[Garawa]

I think it's all about perspective. Rugby has always been rougher than football and it sets a level in people's subconscious that is naturally higher than what is perceived unacceptable in football. Seeing players drinking having just shoved and whacked each other about looks more serene. If you see two boxers doing the same thing no-one would bat an eyelid but what if it was two snooker players, that would look far worse than the rugby incident. In fact, on a rugby field may result in a ban but by a snooker table a jail term.

Rubgy fans love to pretend their sport is more sporting but only because all the fighting happens on the pitch, something you cannot do on a football field. Years of the same thing easily ingrains a higher level of acceptance that is totally different at each sport.