“You have got to push the boundaries, that’s the nature of sport, and sport is
not a sterile thing for me,†Cockerill said at Twickenham. “That is my
personality. Just because I look aggressive, does that mean I am aggressive?
I didn’t abuse officials, but I did use industrial language.
“We operate in a very pressurised environment, a very male-orientated one
where that sort of language is used all the time. In the cold light of day,
in the PC world in which we live, I probably should not have done so. It was
felt that I was out of order and a disgrace to the game. It was also said
that I don’t understand the core values of the sport [respect, discipline
and sportsmanship].
“I went down after one of my players had been knocked out and a spinal board
had been called for in an incident the like of which I had spoken to
officials about beforehand. Would you not want the coach of your son to go
down and have words? They say that people would see how I behaved and not
take little Johnny to rugby on a Sunday morning as a result? Well, I take my
son.
“What about coaching a champion side that is one of the most disciplined? What
about standing by players even though they have been injured for two years?
Is that not about core values? It is my own fault for giving people the
opportunity to put that one on me. Human nature is human nature and you
can’t take that out of sport. My strength is also my weakness. When I was
banned in 2009 [for another outburst], I was out of order. That I accept.â€
Key law changes
- Scrum engagement: instruction is now ‘crouch, bind, set’ meaning
both scrums engage with each other rather than standing apart and taking
the hit. - Scrum-half cannot put the ball in until referee says ‘ready’.
- Referees to enforce rule that the ball is fed into the scrum in a straight line
down the middle of it.
Leicester"s director of rugby Richard Cockerill labels new scrum laws as ...
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