THE GLASWEGIAN REPORTS

Oh boo-hoo!
By Matthew Leslie on Mar 15, 10 10:20 PM in
Two columns in as many days the more regular of you may ask? Blame a bunch of retired old colonels spouting nonsense.

West of Scotland boss John Beattie seems to have stirred up a hornet's nest with his BBC blog where upon he raises the subject of fans booing an opposing goal-kicker as he lines up a penalty.

The former Scotland and Lions cap has come under a barrage of criticism for saying the following:-

"Is it wrong to boo a kick? If you want my honest answer, I don't think it is.

"I'm all for it. In every part of the world, in every sporting contest, the crowd at the event likes to get behind its team. Part of that is making a noise to put the opposition off.

"We can claim that rugby is somehow a saintly game but I like to hear a crowd getting involved and making a racket to disrupt a kicker."

Judging from the swarm of replies his column has received, it would appear that John must have stolen hundreds of parking spaces in his time as surely no one with a sense of perspective could get worked up over..... team rivalry?

I've spoken out on booing in the past but that concerned Scotland fans booing their own - Dan Parks' treatment at the hands of the East Stand mullahs after missing a couple of kicks against South Africa 18 months back.

I don't feel you should boo your own - after all, a player may later turn out to be your saviour in the last minute, or in Dan's case 18 months on, a shimmering beacon of light in the darkness of two defeats in Cardiff and Rome (plus he wasn't bad last week either).

Opposition players? Fair game. Why? If a bit a mental disintegration - as an Aussie cricketer may call it - can possibly force him to falter and stop him kicking a goal which condemns your team to defeat sure.....why not?

You never know it might work but in many cases I don't think it works. Still, it is worth making an enquiry as said kicker lines up his shot. Incidentally, many remarked on the injured Wilkinson and Ugo Monye being booed when they were helped off the pitch after receiving their respective knocks. Can anyone enlighten me as to where in the ground this took place because there was nothing of the sort in the section of the West Stand that I was in - only applause.

But I digress. A chat with former Scotland prop and current Glasgow Hawks boss Peter Wright reinforced my own view. It sets the kicker a new challenge and grants him the opportunity to give himself a big smug grin should he succeed and therefore wipe it off his admiring (ahem) audience. In other words it can be detrimental to the team you believe to be helpful as it may inspire the kicker even more to land his effort.

An incident involving the aforementioned Parks springs to mind. Back at the start of the 2008/09 season, Glasgow Warriors were involved in a tight opening tussle against the Dragons. Glasgow are awarded a long range penalty close to the left wing. Parks steps up and on cue, all of Newport is (even bigger ahem) encouraging him to miss it. He duly nails it, wins the game for the Warriors and the look on his face as he casts a glance to the Dragons support is a picture.

Besides, it can also be argued that if a kicker can't block out all around him when he's lining one up, what is he doing playing professional rugby? When Scotland beat Australia last autumn thanks to Matt Giteau's last-gasp conversion miss, the Aussie said he just had a poor day with the boot - the chorus of boos had nothing to do with it according to him - after all, he's played reasonably well before and after the Scotland loss.

What amazes me is the "it just not cricket" style reaction to John's piece. For a start, fine sport though it is, the only thing white about cricket is the uniform worn in the test match stage of the game (WG Grace's cheating, Bodyline, ball-chucking, ball-tampering, biased umpires, the D'Oliveira affair, Aussie sledging and various betting scandals anybody).

As for those boasting of rugby being a game of morals....... come off it. Sure the referee gets a darn sight more respect than the footballing counterparts but booing an opposing kicker is the least of rugby's worries.

The print edition of the paper - out on Wednesday - will show a visual image of a shocking foul on Max Evans which casts a darker shadow over the game than anyone invoking the God of Boo when Jonny Wilkinson lines up a kick. Without giving away too much, if Steve Borthwick even plays against France let alone captain England against Les Bleus, then a proper sense of shame will be cast upon the game.

The gouging bans of 70 and 23 weeks respectively to Monsieurs Attoub and Dupuy recently showed a sign that rugby's beaks were ready to get tough on people who gouge and commit any other acts of foul play. For the message to be hammered home to the players that this is unacceptable, the powers that be must be consistent and continue to hammer players as and when these shocking acts are committed.

However the cynic in me suspects that Borthwick will get away scot (pardon the pun) free. As will the coward who - as shown in a rival publication - shoved a finger into the eye of Scotland hooker Ross Ford.

And I haven't even mentioned Harlequins' infamous 'Bloodgate' episode yet!

But bizarrely enough, an ex-player mentioning that booing an opposition kicker lining up a penalty adds to the game's drama is the trigger for a mass knee-jerking contest on the Beeb's message board!?

Excuse me from straying from this absurd norm, but if I was playing professional rugby, I'd rather be booed by the opposition when lining up a kick than have an opponent make me eligible for an NHS glass eye.

Let's see if I get as much hate-mail as the West boss!

This article was posted on 16-Mar-2010, 07:21 by Hugh Barrow.