Monday’s rugby news has Cheika blowing up, the Brumbies soldiering on, McCalman in trouble and O’Driscoll with a fitting send-off.
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Cheika fuming over refereeing
The Brumbies have confirmed that they will be passing on a bill from Canberra Stadium management after Waratahs coach Michael Cheika shattered the glass door of the coaching box. Cheika conceded post-match that the damage was done when he stormed out at full-time, livid with referee Jaco Peyper’s rulings on scrums in the decisive final minutes.
“I was very disappointed, first of all with the amount of time its taking to scrum. It’s just taking far too long,” Cheika said, adding, ‘within 30 seconds the ball should be in.’ While conceding that the Brumbies’ front-row was much stronger, the Waratah coach also said the penalty awarded in the final scrum should have been given to his team. [/one_half]
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Mowen praises gutsy effort
On the other side of the ledger, Brumbies captain Ben Mowen has characterised the weekend’s win as one of his finest victories. Mowen had dealt with rumours of dobbing in his Wallabies team-mates over the Dublin drinking scandal in the lead up the match, and the fact that none of his former team-mates publicly supported him. The Brumbies also overcame two sin-binnings during the final 20 minutes of the match.
The win did come at a cost though, with starters Henry Speight (fractured jaw) and Leon Power (knee) will be added to the star-studded injury list. Speight will face at least 6 weeks on the sideline, joining David Pocock (knee), Christian Lealiifano (ankle) and Fotu Auelua (knee). [/one_half]
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McCalman cited
In-form Western Force number 8 Ben McCalman is facing a suspension of up to four weeks for his spear tackle on Highlanders prop Kame Hames. The unfortunate incident occurred in the 72nd minute of the Force’s 31-29 victory on Saturday, after McCalman had put in a dominant performance.
Upon further review of the match footage the Citing Commissioner deemed in his opinion the incident had met the red card threshold for foul play. This does not bode well for McCalman, with rugby officials desperate to send clear disproval of tip tackles in light of recent head injury studies. [/one_half]
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O’Driscoll enjoys dream finish
Legendary Ireland centre Brian O’Driscoll has retired in spectacular fashion, defeating France away to win the Six Nations. The 35-year-old, who holds the world record for international caps with 141, was instrumental in the 22-20 victory. The win also came on the same ground where a 21 year-old BOD scored a hat-trick to beat the French, announcing his greatness in the Test arena.
‘Not many people get to go out on their own terms and it is one I will treasure,’ O’Driscoll said. ‘It is a feeling of sheer delight to have played on for one more year.’ [/one_half]
