Sorry about missing last week, was on holiday and had spent a rather hard weekend at the Edgbaston Test! (Bit of an understatement that!!)
I would like to extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the family and friends of Derek Bray who passed away recently. We held a minute’s silence for him on Saturday and his funeral will be held at Penmount on Thursday 13th August at 2:00pm. Derek managed the bar for many seasons and more recently worked for Steve Abbott.
However, the pre season matches are under way and a good size crowd enjoyed a very good, competitive game of rugby at the weekend. Results at this stage of the season do not matter, its all about gauging where you are fitness wise, how your new players fit in and adapt and to give all players the opportunity to push for a starting place in the 1st game of the season. We have a very long and challenging season in front of us so your support, as usual, is absolutely vital ….
The South African Rugby Union will tomorrow answer charges of alleged misconduct at a hearing in Dublin on Monday, following the incident where South African players wore armbands to protest against the ban handed out to Bakkies Botha.
SARU were charged by the International Rugby Board after the Springboks wore ‘Justice’ armbands for the third Test against the British and Irish Lions on July 4, in protest at Bakkies Botha’s two-week suspension. Lock Botha was found guilty of a dangerous charge on Adam Jones during the second Test in Pretoria. Lions prop Jones was left with a dislocated shoulder and ruled out of action for six months. Botha failed in an attempt to overturn the ban – he had failed to bind onto a team-mate before cleaning out the ruck – sparking the Springboks’ protest at Ellis Park.
The truth always comes out in the wash, however dirty. But ERC may take another cycle to rid itself of the Harlequins stain this week. In the wake of Dean Richards’ resignation over the ‘fake blood’ incident during last season’s Heineken Cup quarter-final, ERC are set to re-open their case against club, departed coach and physios Wendy Chapman and Steph Brennan, while considering the appeal against the 12-month ban of Tom Williams, the player who had hitherto been treated as though his secretion of a blood capsule onto a pitch and use thereof had been entirely his own idea.
Roger O’Connor, the ERC disciplinary officer, has appealed against the panel’s verdict against Quins. An independent appeal committee will be convened and they have the power to dish out a more severe sentence, which could extend to throwing the club out of the tournament. That course of action is becoming more and more likely as different punishments are considered, while Richards’ flourishing coaching career is in jeopardy. He might not be banned for life, but the stain of ‘cheat’ that will be all over his CV will be of grave concern to future prospective employers. Compared to the looming storm, Richards’ unhappy spell at Grenoble – from which the Quins job was a rescue – will seem like an Alpine picnic. The culmination of all of this has been as long and drawn out as it has been unpleasant. It took months to convene the disciplinary hearing, even longer for the truth to come out, and that only with an unpleasant piece of blackmail on the part of the disciplinary committee whose scapegoating of Williams and lack of reprimand to anyone else have managed to prick the consciences of Richards and, it is hoped, others.
It has been perhaps the game’s most damaging incident in a year where the tarnishes to the game’s image look like they’ve been put there with a paint-ball gun. You can look inside and forgive the Bath players who combined stupidity and naivety in equal measure, you can frown sternly at Sergio Parisse and Schalk Burger, waggle a poignant finger and bark: ‘never again’. But how do you forgive a club, coach, physio team and player who all conspired together with such elaboracy to flaunt the rules and the spirit of the game, who planned such an intelligence-insulting deception of not only the officials and opponents but also the millions of people who tune into what is the world’s best sub-international rugby tournament and the sponsors who help to make it what it is? Over a very long period of time, you might be able to forget. The next disciplinary panel will let us know how long that period of time is when they dish out their punishment. It will be interesting to see where, at the end of it all, Quins stand. Their current rebuilding following relegation four years ago – which Richards had done so much for – is now largely rubble and dust, the Harlequins name and brand in black books everywhere.
New signing Jonny Wilkinson believes Toulon should be aiming for the Top 14 title this season. The southern French club beat Australian tourists the Brumbies 20-6 in a friendly at the Stade Mayol on Thursday to clinch their third victory from three pre-season matches. Toulon struggled to avoid relegation last term but have recruited heavily for the forthcoming campaign, Wilkinson being their marquee player.
As mentioned previously, I went to the 3rd Ashes Test at Edgbaston last week and what a good time I had …. mind you on the Saturday I felt like my backside had been on a BBQ all night! Curries in the daytime are unheard of but one at 2:00pm on the Thursday and one at 10:00pm on the Friday had a catastrophic effect! I haven’t said much at all about the Ashes so far … maybe because there isn’t much to discuss! Lets be honest we are hanging on by the skin of our teeth …. we should never of hung on in the 1st, we were pretty ok in the 2nd, we had no bowlers that could deal with ordinary conditions in the 3rd and the rain did play a big part and we were totally annihilated in the 4th. Now there is discussion about bringing back Ramprakash, Trescothick and others … yes the middle order is in need of a tidy up but there are players in the Lions set up who deserve a chance … I would like to see Matt Prior pushed up the order, bring in Steven Moore to keep wicket and go for Robert Key, he certainly deserves a go after being there or thereabouts for a number of seasons. If Trescothick was going to commit to returning to Test Cricket then I would say go for him but for a "1-off" its all for the wrong reasons … we will see ….
Following our game this Sunday against Plymouth Albion at Brickfields, the Development Team will travel to St Ives on Tuesday night. I believe kick off for this game is 6:15pm. Then next Saturday its Truro, kick off for this game will be 2:30pm and its at Truro. I won’t be at that game as I am off to Cardiff to watch U2 on the 360 tour … can’t wait!!
So the real stuff gets closer and its now only 3 weeks to go ….. hopefully our first game against Cambridge will attract a bumper crowd to get the season under way …. the new kit has arrived and looks very smart particularly the new playing shirt. All will be for sale in the club shop and at the outlet in the town so get in there quick and get your gear!
Back next week …
Cheers
David Penberthy
Director of Rugby