Austrailan Rugby Union and Wimbledon show message is everything and ...

It was so outrageous that it forced the International Rugby Board to act and,

for the first time in its history, appeal a “not guilty” decision. The ARU

on Thursday made much of the fact that this was an “unprecedented” move on

behalf on the governing body, but deep down it knew why it had never

happened before. The IRB had never had the nerve before.

But even this collection of submissive suits felt obliged to do something. Not

in time to mete the requisite justice and have Horwill banned for the second

Test, but still in time to effect what would be some worth punishment.

So congratulations to the IRB, a body which has previously been as toothless

to make Shane MacGowan resemble Luis Suárez. Meanwhile, the ARU continued to

publish its mistruths, which became more outlandish by the second. The

“necessary falsification” – as George Orwell called it – reached its zenith

with the ARU’s claim that the IRB’s appeal has the “potential to cause

serious disruption to the… positive atmosphere surrounding the tour”.

I would venture that the serious disruption of a human being’s features might,

just might, lead to a negative atmosphere; but hey, the ARU would not

listen. It is too busy being reckless in declaring nobody could prove beyond

reasonable doubt that Horwill was being reckless. Some sap was paid to

circulate this garbage. There is towing the party line and hauling its

rotten innards for the public to ingest.

But then, that is modern sport. The message is everything, the validity

nothing. Sport’s PR agencies trot out their missives, intent on blurring the

truth in the favour of their clients. Nothing wrong with that. It is what

they are paid for and usually their spin is harmless. Yet sometimes it

defies belief.

Wimbledon’s

reaction to the mass of withdrawals was a headcase in point. We could see

players losing their footing all over Wednesday’s coverage. But the official

statement refused to recognise it could have had anything to do with the

grass. “There have been some suggestion that the court surface is to blame,”

the Wimbledon chief executive Richard Lewis said. “We have no reason to

think this is the case.”

Fair enough, they are going to fight their corner, even if it was splattered

with blood from some of the contestants. But there was a reason to

investigate why so many players had pulled out after tumbles.

Why is the first reaction always to go on the attack? That is not good

government; it is pathetic paranoia. And so “Wimbledon whingers” exploded

across the social media. You know, pampered millionaires, they want

everything their own way, they are just making excuses. Hang about, we saw

them sprawling, we saw the doctors with their bandages: tell me, were they

in on the conspiracy, too?

Something strange was going on and to dismiss it so matter-of-factly as a huge

coincidence of unrelated injuries was, to my mind, irresponsible. It added

more than a little insult to the injuries.

Article source: http://www.timescolonist.com/sports/wales-rugby-prop-to-spend-night-in-australian-jail-over-assault-charge-1.335654

Austrailan Rugby Union and Wimbledon show message is everything and ...