Match thread: Ulster Rugby v Toulon, Sat 25 Oct 2014 1300 Ravenhill

bilston

George Hook wrote: »

Scarlets 15-3 Leicester. Means we go bottom of the group. Which stands at:

Toulon 8
Scarlets 4
Leicester 4
Ulster 1

Looks bad at the moment but that result means 2nd place is still very much on. Whether it's as one of the best runners up is another matter. If Humph had got that kick at the end I'd say we would have had a chance. Unlikely. Truth is we need to win in Toulon or at least get more than a single bonus point there while taking 15 pounts in the other three games.

George Hook

bilston wrote: »

Looks bad at the moment but that result means 2nd place is still very much on. Whether it's as one of the best runners up is another matter. If Humph had got that kick at the end I'd say we would have had a chance. Unlikely. Truth is we need to win in Toulon or at least get more than a single bonus point there while taking 15 pounts in the other three games.

True true, I don't believe we will finish bottom of the group by any means. But it will be very difficult for us to progess in the tournament...unless the whole Toulon team get hit by a bad case of food poisoning just before the match.:rolleyes:

CatFromHue

Your man's been cited

Faofifenua is alleged to have kicked the Ulster centre, Stuart Olding (No 12), in the head in the 47th minute of the Pool 3 game at Kingspan Stadium in contravention of Law 10.4(c).

The complaint was made by the match Citing Commissioner, Peter Larter (England).

Christopher Quinlan (England) has been appointed as the independent Judicial Officer for the hearing which will take place in Dublin on Thursday, 30 October.

http://www.epcrugby.com/europeanrugbychampionscup/news/29424.php#.VE-WSPmsVgg

There's no doubt he booted him in the head, that it was unintentional, and Olding had to leave the field cos of it.

I'd be surprised if he didn't get some sort of ban.

awec

Good.

Farcical that Barnes did nothing.

George Hook

Maybe players will be a bit more careful at ruck time now instead of mindlessly hacking at the ball.

He won't get a ban. POC did the same thing and nothing came of it...

Micky Dolenz

The standing player should have to take responsibility for the safety of the player on the deck. No line of sight of ball, no reckless kicking.

former legend

Deleted User wrote: »

He won't get a ban. POC did the same thing and nothing came of it...

Shhhhh, people will hear you.

The ERC has always had a much more robust disciplinary process than the Pro12 so I don't know if there's much of a precedent.

phog

former legend wrote: »

Shhhhh, people will hear you.

The ERC has always had a much more robust disciplinary process than the Pro12 so I don't know if there's much of a precedent.

I think he wanted to be heard.

molloyjh

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

The standing player should have to take responsibility for the safety of the player on the deck. No line of sight of ball, no reckless kicking.

This. Simply saying that you didn't see the players head or that it was an accident isn't good enough. There is a duty of care there, just as there is in the tackle.

former legend

molloyjh wrote: »

This. Simply saying that you didn't see the players head or that it was an accident isn't good enough. There is a duty of care there, just as there is in the tackle.

It's interesting to read the procedural bits on how the citing process works, it's very clear that intent only comes into it when deciding the punishment, not whether or not an offence has been committed.

Similar to what happened O'Connor I suppose.

awec

Shouldn't be swinging your feet about if you can't see what is between your foot and the ball.

I would fully expect him to get a ban.

errlloyd

I also think the old nugget of "well we don't want kids at u10s kicking into rucks" will come out.

sydthebeat

without wanting to open this up again into a clusterfcuk.... but Paulies kick was way worse.
Taofifenua was the jackle, was being rucked and tried to kick through while being forced backward. he can even argue he had no sightline as henry was counter rucking him chest to chest

POC had a running start, no ruck at all, and kicked cleanly with no opponents hands on him.

I think Taofifenuas defense may highlight POCs as precedent, though i expect he will end up with a 2 week ban (4 weeks halved)

shuffol

Was POC even cited though, I think that was the issue people had at the time. Had he been cited he'd most likely have copped a ban and the Clermont game was only a week away. I hope this is dealt with quite severely, it's something that's creeping into the game of late and it really is needless.

former legend

No; it was decided that POC's kick was not a red card offence and therefore no citing was needed.

I'd agree Taofifenua's wasn't as bad but I don't think the disciplinary panel will take POC's escape as a precedent (nor should they). I'd say 2-4 weeks.

Riskymove

former legend wrote: »

No; it was decided that POC's kick was not a red card offence and therefore no citing was needed.

I'd agree Taofifenua's wasn't as bad but I don't think the disciplinary panel will take POC's escape as a precedent (nor should they). I'd say 2-4 weeks.

if at first you don't succeed...try try again

molloyjh

The Pro12 has a bizarre rule where you can only get cited if you got a red card IIRC. And because POC wasn't carded at all there was nothing that could be done. This obviously isn't the case with the Champions Cup so the two aren't really comparable from that perspective.

/ends POC-Dave Kearney element of discussion for the good of all posters.

former legend

Riskymove wrote: »

if at first you don't succeed...try try again

? I don't get it.

Buer

molloyjh wrote: »

The Pro12 has a bizarre rule where you can only get cited if you got a red card IIRC. And because POC wasn't carded at all there was nothing that could be done. This obviously isn't the case with the Champions Cup so the two aren't really comparable from that perspective.

It actually is the case with the EPC and the ERC before it!

I don't think anyone actually subscribes to that line of thinking. We've all seen people suspended for offences that nobody would consider a red card like a late shoulder tackle or a clumsy clear out.