A whiff of Cordite

[Oldschoolsocks]

Are you sure he is deceased?

I'm not, would you believe? After I'd written that about "turning in the grave" I tried to double check and couldn't find confirmation for what was an assumption on my part. I'd delete that comment now, if I knew how. Maybe the moderator(s) could be so kind?.....

Edit the comment and delete the words after and including ******?

[riocard911]

Don't know why I do this to myself but I read Cummiskey's stuff yesterday...what an attitude that guy has. For a start, everything was negative, not just about Ireland but every story in the "fun" section was too. Everything he said was so snide, even just the player ratings. I don't have the exact quote in front of me but his comment on Ross Byrne was something like "kicked his points, whoop de doo". I can see why Rob told him to f%~k off in Japan and I'd love if the IRFU and the IT did too. He pointedly referred to Bealham being Australian as well.

I don't think I've ever come across a sports journalist who hates the sport they cover quite as much as he does. I could understand if he was a football journalist in the UK where there are so many opportunities, but for him to have one of the biggest gigs like that in a small pond like ours just blows my mind.

Dreadful stuff. *************** must be turning in his grave!!!

[outcast eddie]

D'arce takes aim and opens fire on David Nucifora...

No detail followed because Nucifora does not believe he is accountable to the Irish public. This is clear as day in his attitude.

What about France 2023, David, how do Ireland avoid being quarter-final cannon fodder yet again?

Answer: “As we get closer to 2023 I’ll come back to you and let you know what the score will be in the semi final.”

Is the World Cup semi-final still a goal?

Answer: “I’d like to get to the final.”

This was delivered with a laugh. Accountability has to matter

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/ ... -1.4424826

[arsebiscuits1]

While I like what D'arcy generally writes, the very concept of a journalist moaning about accountability is the absolute height of hypocrisy.

We have just seen a golden example of a "journalist" from the very same publication D'arcy is writing from display his complete disdain for the very sport he's meant to cover.

Cummisky is the prime example of a journalist having absolutely no accountability for his actions or words. He uses print media as a medium for reactionary statements despite print media offering no option to directly react to him. Ergo he gets to publish his incendiary tripe without ever having to legitimately or appropriately defend what he says.

I'll start taking print medias woes of accountability more seriously when I see them properly quoting sources as opposed to actively lying. When they own up to opinions they printed being completely wide of the mark and when they stop insulting us by pretending that some of the content they pedal exists only to cause a reaction.

[fourthirtythree]

Opinion is not news. You can say any old shite as long as it's not illegal. It's entertainment essentially.

So for example the prime minister of England is and was described as a journalist despite his writing being consistently over decades full of outright lies. Pure made up stuff from his first gig where he made up stuff from his uncle and got fired to his current one where the Toeygraph has to regularly print retractions (basically because it is judged that as PM he should know what he is saying is false).

In this case Nucifora is not answerable to "the people" but to his employers the IRFU. Totally up to them to judge his performance. The people could pressure them I guess, but what they gonna do? Boycott matches?

[nc6000]

I see Cummiskey referring to Nucifora as "the twice capped Wallaby hooker" in his article today about the contract impasse. He just loves the little snide remarks. I'm not a big fan of Nucifora but he could also be described as "world cup winning hooker" to be fair.

[curates_egg]

While I like what D'arcy generally writes, the very concept of a journalist moaning about accountability is the absolute height of hypocrisy.

We have just seen a golden example of a "journalist" from the very same publication D'arcy is writing from display his complete disdain for the very sport he's meant to cover.

Cummisky is the prime example of a journalist having absolutely no accountability for his actions or words. He uses print media as a medium for reactionary statements despite print media offering no option to directly react to him. Ergo he gets to publish his incendiary tripe without ever having to legitimately or appropriately defend what he says.

I'll start taking print medias woes of accountability more seriously when I see them properly quoting sources as opposed to actively lying. When they own up to opinions they printed being completely wide of the mark and when they stop insulting us by pretending that some of the content they pedal exists only to cause a reaction.

D'Arcy is ghost written by Cummisky - or edited at least. It's about the only good stuff Cummisky has produced in last five years.

[domhnallj]

Didn't know where this should go, so I stuck it here. There are real problems on the way.

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/ ... -1.4430923

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/55201237

[riocard911]

Re "problems". There sure are...

This is the complete interview with Steve Thompson:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/ ... ial-report

Think World Rugby are going to do something to cut down collisions and focus more on speed and skill. It might help if the TV people and the fans maybe stopped continuously raving about massive "hits" and posting them on YouTube as if they're the quintessence of the game. Some poor hoor gets painfully steamrolled - personally I don't find it a barrel of laughs anymore and haven't for quite a while.

[Ruckedtobits]

The IRFU and the International Rugby Board were "warned" more than a decade ago about the potential risks of long-terms consequences of head injuries to international players. However, the attitude of England and South Africa in particular ensured that actions were slow and safety of playeers remained low priority. Dr Barry O'Driscoll was one of those leading the calls for radical change and I believe he ultimately left his role in World Rugby in frustration at the lack of fundamental changes in search of safety.

Unfortunately the horse has bolted. The seventy players now taking legal action are the tip of the iceberg. But the coffers are almost empty because of Covid-19 and delay will be the course of action that rugby authorities will choose.

[Oldschool]

Re "problems". There sure are...

This is the complete interview with Steve Thompson:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/ ... ial-report

Think World Rugby are going to do something to cut down collisions and focus more on speed and skill. It might help if the TV people and the fans maybe stopped continuously raving about massive "hits" and posting them on YouTube as if they're the quintessence of the game. Some poor hoor gets painfully steamrolled - personally I don't find it a barrel of laughs anymore and haven't for quite a while.

F = M*A.
F is force.
M is mass
A is acceleration which is a function of speed.

If you speed up the game you increase the magnitude of the force (of collision in this instance).

[fourthirtythree]

Re "problems". There sure are...

This is the complete interview with Steve Thompson:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/ ... ial-report

Think World Rugby are going to do something to cut down collisions and focus more on speed and skill. It might help if the TV people and the fans maybe stopped continuously raving about massive "hits" and posting them on YouTube as if they're the quintessence of the game. Some poor hoor gets painfully steamrolled - personally I don't find it a barrel of laughs anymore and haven't for quite a while.

Look at the graphs in this article. Back in the days where there was less speed and skill there were fewer collisions. Many fewer. Speeding up is an obsession with the TV paymasters, not health as far as I can see. What's gone down is the number of scrums and lineouts.

94 tackles per game in the 87 world cup versus 257 in the 2019 world cup.

And that's not even the most starkly terrifying set of numbers in the article.

Sobering.

[dropkick]

Re "problems". There sure are...

This is the complete interview with Steve Thompson:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/ ... ial-report

Think World Rugby are going to do something to cut down collisions and focus more on speed and skill. It might help if the TV people and the fans maybe stopped continuously raving about massive "hits" and posting them on YouTube as if they're the quintessence of the game. Some poor hoor gets painfully steamrolled - personally I don't find it a barrel of laughs anymore and haven't for quite a while.

Look at the graphs in this article. Back in the days where there was less speed and skill there were fewer collisions. Many fewer. Speeding up is an obsession with the TV paymasters, not health as far as I can see. What's gone down is the number of scrums and lineouts.

94 tackles per game in the 87 world cup versus 257 in the 2019 world cup.

And that's not even the most starkly terrifying set of numbers in the article.

Sobering.

Slow it down and the players will be able to pack on more bulk.


I think they might have to cut the number of players on the pitch to 14 with fewer subs allowed. 15 men per team wasn't designed for professional athletes and 8 fresh subs.


I presume most of those with the head issues would have been forwards. They are slower and trying to batter each other to earn the right to go wide etc. It's the battle for inches that is probably the main problem. There's so little space on the pitch these days that it's turning into who can batter who up front. While that's part of the game I think there should be a better balance and more space on the pitch would help.

[neiliog93]

Dare I say it but the rugby league approach of 13-a side and two linesmen to rigorously police the offside line might well improve the game.

[Dexter]

Just properly policing the offside line would be a great start. It's gone beyond a joke now.
Of course it would nullify the effectiveness of some teams (e.g. England, Saracens) but it has to be done.

[backrower8]

Dragging the offside line back 2-3 metres AND rigorously enforcing it using the 4 officials (+ Technology) would help a lot.

[curates_egg]

The lawyers on here would be better placed to judge but I imagine these cases will be handled differently in countries with different approaches to tort. You could imagine them having more success here than elsewhere, given how it has evolved here.

Hopefully, none of our ex-players ever experiences dementia, but we already know of a few that were forced to retire due to repetitive head injuries.

[sunshiner1]

Dave McSharry is sueing the IRFU right now because of Brain injuries so that ship has sailed I'd imagine.

[curates_egg]

Dave McSharry is sueing the IRFU right now because of Brain injuries so that ship has sailed I'd imagine.

It seems he and nine other Irish players, including a number of former Leinster players (Cillian Willis, Ben Marshall, Kev McLaughlin, Jackman, Fogarty, Dom Ryan and Nathan White), have been contacted to join this 'class action' suit.
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/ ... -1.4431012

As mentioned though, you wonder what the purpose of a trans-jurisdiction litigation is, beyond PR. Given have loose Irish tort has evolved, I would have thought their best chance would be here.

[curates_egg]

For those interested in the various legal hurdles the claimants will have to surmount, this legal article on Cillian Willis' case against Sale (which I don't think has finished) gives a good overview:
http://rugbyandthelaw.com/2019/02/11/ci ... egligence/

It's a lot more difficult to prove the chicken and egg stuff, and who is responsible, in a UK court than it was in the US for the NFL players. But, as I understand it, that is a reflection of US tort. Ours is possibly a bit closer to US than the UK.

Interestingly, Willis took his case directly against the doctors in Sale and not the club, even though the club would have been legally responsible for their actions as employees. If and when we get cases here, I'm sure the lawyers will go for the the most likely culpable target (I have no clue if it's doctors, provinces or the IRFU, under Irish tort).