CONNACHT HEAD COACH Pete Wilkins says he accepts all aspects of the punishment handed down to Mack Hansen and the club in the disciplinary process following the Irish winger’s criticism of referees and match officials.
Hansen has been banned for three matches, Connacht have been given a suspended fine of €10,000, while the player must undergo ‘an appropriate course’ relating to match officiating, while Connacht have to carry out an education session in how to conduct themselves with the media.
“I think it’s important that it has been put to bed for all sorts of reasons,” said Wilkins. “As a club and Mack as an individual, there is full acceptance of the verdict that was reached and now it’s a matter of moving on and focus on the rugby again,” said Wilkins.
“I think it was a fair hearing and Mack certainly said that coming out of it. So, as I said, we have to accept what was handed down. There’s been so much media coverage of it and we just have to move on now, really. And I think at least Mack got the certainty in his mind and from the referees’ and URC side of things, they’ve got a black and white resolution and they can get on with things as well.
“I think it’s a reminder of, you know, our responsibilities, and Mack certainly has accepted that in his apology statement; accepting that, in his position as a player — and it’s the same for us as coaches — the respect for match officials and each other as players and coaches is integral to the game.
“So, it’s a reminder for that, if we did need that, and I think Mack’s remorse probably reflects that he understands that as well,” he added.
Think we need some perspective on this as it seams as since the comments were made by a popular player, then the reaction has been he was just speaking the truth, I doubt all those saying that also backed Erasmus when he did his public referee review? Also plenty of international teams think that Ireland get the rub of the green from Refs. Just go on any SA, Scottish or Welsh fans board esp after 6 nations games. Would the same people be backing a Welsh player saying Ireland always get the referee decisions after a game? There may be something in what he said, but theres no doubt it was in the wrong channel, and one he knew that. Without a structured reasoned argument it was meaningless. Connecht needed to create a reasoned case with evidence and submit it through the correct channels.
@Kingshu: I think what Pete Wilkins has said definitely says alot. Mack believes he has been treated fairly and they accept the punishment. Most importantly they accept and understand their responsibility as elite rugby players and coaches. If they have accepted, so should we and put this sorry episode behind us.
@Kingshu: but he was speaking facts….even Leinster supporters were agreeing in the comments section. None of this is Leinster fault or issue either. But these were glaringly obvious mistakes. He wasn’t talking about 50/50 decisions that could go either way. Murray Kinsella and Gerry Thornley both highlighted as well. Fair enough if you don’t agree with the player speaking out but you can’t stand over those decisions.
@anthony davoren: Why aren’t you so aggrieved by Busby missing the very clear and obvious shoulder to head on McCarthy? Or do the decisions that go in Connacht’s favor not count somehow?
@anthony davoren: it was his opinion. you can see by comment below yours that Leinster fans don’t all agree. But he was soeaking about more than one game, so one off (possible one sided examples) in a comments section doesn’t count for much, just like tryng to give examples in a post match interview isnt very reasoned, or even objective. How many times have you see something in a game in real time and thought the ref was wrong, only to change you mind when replayed? Hansen had just his view of the game. Not that Im saying he doesn’t have a point, I actually think he does, but the way it was delivered, was poor not objective, wasn’t beyound respute and was out of order.
@Kingshu: there are a number of issues with what you write. 1st. I write this as a Munster fan so I’ve no reason to see ‘conspiracies’ when it comes to Connacht. But Connacht have not always been reffed fairly and the latest Leinster match was just an example of this where the calls seemed to go against them. I’ve written that I think there is a natural subconscious bias by refs towards the team expected to win. It’s not deliberate and it’s just something that needs more awareness a bit like prejudice in the workplace. 2nd the examples you mentioned were terrible. Wales have got some outrageous calls over the years. The won a 6n’s on the back of several dubious ref calls a few years back. No doubt refs are riding them now that they’re expected to lose.
@Michael Corkery: and Rassie. My god SA have got some really tight calls. Remember the last minute against France in RWC qtr! That was just trying to intimidate refs, pure and simple. He should have got a longer ban. Mack’s one mistake was mentioning the ‘16th man’ v Leinster. That was deemed as direct criticism of Busby but his general point about reffing was spot on.
@anthony davoren: The last part of your statement gives me some hope – “Fair enough if you don’t agree with the player speaking out”. This is literally the only part of this debate that is important. People want us to agree or disagree with the comments Mack made, which has never been the point. Regardless of the right or wrong of his comments, it was fundamentally wrong to make the comments! It is one of the cornerstones of every rugby club in the world.
@Michael Corkery: exactly as @Paul Ennis says. I even said I think he has a point, if you read it back so not sure what you are arguing? But its clearly not the correct channel to express that. Much the same as Erasmus’s referee critique (which I think ruined the Lions series) SA fans defend him and will say he was correct and right to speak out @stuart may even agree with Erasmus, or at least back up that lots of SA fans think he was correct and WR were wrong to punish them. Whether I agree with either of them or the examples they gave is irrelevant, they both delivered it in the totally wrong manner (with the possible desire to influence future refs/games) and deserved and were punished.
@Kingshu: fair enough. For me the Erasmus and Hansen outbursts were totally different. The latter was clearly out of frustration while the former was calculated and devious.
@Michael Corkery: Not having a go, but your comments examplify why refs and governing bodies have such a hard time with the perception of referees, quality and neutrality. Just to focus on the SA views a section of SA says that feel that Ireland and the provinces get the rub of the green. They are fairly loud on social media, so you must be aware of them even if you dont agree with them. Now you just wanted me to agree to your view on Connacht and dismissed the SA views as rubbish. If I asked a SA fan they would say your talking nonsense and point to a number of occasions they feel Ireland/Connacht got dubious ref calls, So whos right? After every close game there will be a section of fans blaming the ref, they can’t all be right. .
@Michael Corkery: Wales got away with murder for years in the 6n.
Paul O’Connell was insensed when Barnes penalised us twice driving a maul to the welsh line for God knows what and the welsh collapsing it.
Barnes hated Ireland
We’ve all seen Frank Murphy been accused of being biased to both teams in the same game. Which is impossible.
The laws are such that something could be blown at nearly every ruck, good refs decide what to let go to let the game flow, otherwise every ruck would result in a pen (and then pen reversal), as such a fan watching back after a loss can easily pick out pens, (slight offsides, in from slighty side) and even big moments, and blame the ref (I saw Ulster fans blaming the ref for not checking Crowley high foot on Kok), after every narrow loss a section of fans will blame the ref. Ref a couple of close games and number of sections of fans will blame him and get a poor reputation, even if its not deserved. So referees can never win,
@Michael Corkery: just to end as I really have spent to much time on this, I do agree there could be a natural unconscious bias toward the team expected to win, but also you have to agree that after a close loss, a large portion of fans will find its the fault of some of the referees decisions. As such the more close decisions that go against a team the more they will feel the refs are against them, hence why Leinster fans generally have few issues with refs as they are on the winning side most of the time, Dragons and Zebre lose by big margins where is difficult to blame the ref, but middle table teams like Connacht, and currently Munster and Ulster, lose quite a few close games which its easy to blame the ref for and will develop a low opinion on the officials and some possible bias?
@Michael Corkery: do you genuinely, really, truly not understand how moronic this is? Connacht are not reffed more harshly than others. Pointing to cherry picked instances where you have deemed them to be fair and unfair is braindead. Every fan of every club could give you a laundry list of instances where they feel the decision shouldn’t have went the way it did. This isn’t unique to Connacht or Munster or whoever. You are operating from a position where Hansens comments are somehow more righteous than if it’s Rassie, or an AB, or a Leinster player or Dupont or whatever. Your whole starting position is so crazily irrational and illogical it’s hard to know where to start to try to unpack it.
@Stephen Nolan: what are you raving about…how come nobody else is on about it?
@Michael Corkery: What calls went against them? There was one call which was far from clear and obvious. They got away with murder in the first half, giving up penalties for fun in the red zone, with no warning, never mind a card. They got away with a very clear yellow card against them. Leinster gave up 15 penalties and 2 yellow cards and somehow Connacht got ridden by the ref? There have been times, when I’d agree Connacht have come out on the wrong side of the ref but that game was not one of them. They certainly didn’t endear themselves to the ref that night either, the way Prendergast was talking to Busby, was pretty poor. It was almost as if they had decided before getting there, that they were going to be treated badly.
Whether his comments were right or wrong is irrelevant, Mack was bang out of order and needs to serve his penalty. End of story
@Oliver Daly: Bang out of order? Give it a rest
@Oliver Daly: No, he was spot on and being punished for speaking the truth is right out of 1984….
@Oliver Daly: it is relevant…very relevant. Standard of officiating cana and does decide results in games and this is a results based sport. Connacht has put up and shit up and none of the concerns raised in previous games were responded to. Enough was enough and even though he has a 3 game ban at least it’s out there now and puts pressure on officials not to be swayed by reputations or big town support.
@anthony davoren: and that is exactly why Wilkins rolled Hansen out at that press conference. To put pressure of referees. Which is why the ban is so important. That can’t be stood for.
@Brian Keelty: punished for speaking the truth… There’s been a lot of that in last 4 years
@anthony davoren: granted Connacht may feel hard done by the last few years in terms of refereeing decisions but the root of this isn’t poor/biased refereeing. This stems from Connacht playing games on the back foot and allowing themselves to be dominated by opposition all too often the last few years which ultimately leads having to rely on getting the rub of the green with decisions to win. This is why they feel aggrieved when deciding go against them as they have an over reliance on them.
@John harte: I played rugby for 24 years and the first thing you are told is to be respectful to the referee.
He was out of order. He was correct in saying Jordie Barrett hit Bundi in the head, but two leinster players got bullshit yellow cards because of Connaught lads jumping in the air. He was just upset, but you can’t mouth off like that
@anthony davoren: Same for Sexton and Rassie when they went off on refs right? They had grievances so should save aired them with no punishment? Right? And you were apoplectic in the comment sections when the evil powers that be came down on them? No? Didn’t think so
@Oliver Daly: sorry now but that makes no sense…for example Barrets illegal and reckless clear out on Ali was Connachts own fault for not dominating?? Rubbish. Same with the hit on Ioane? Makes no sense
@Oliver Daly: How has the present method worked?
A player get frustrated with officiating and you telling to shut up and keep taking it…
Mac Hansen and Chris Busby both love the game..
Some things just have to be said, regardless of the consequences. Hopefully now we will see more fair play from officials going forward. Referee reviews are all good and well. More box ticking exercises than anything by all accounts. I mean you don’t see Turkeys voting for Christmas.
@Ray Ridge: such as:
- Josh Murphy took a swing at Snyman, nothing happened;
- Soroka took a very similar hit to Aki, nothing happened;
- Hansen spent several minutes in the first half screaming abuse at the AR and he wasn’t even called up on that.
But sure, Busby was obviously Leinster’s “16th
@teuO6nLS: man” and Connacht “never get any calls, ever” because it’s all a big conspiracy against them
Finally somebody talking a bit of sense! There has been some amount of garbage spouted on here about referee reviews being made public and having more accountability. It’s like asking a head coach to go through a review of their team after a match and make it public. Reviews which are carried out with referees after matches from underage rugby up to the professional ranks are carried out regularly. These reviews are constructive and highlight areas that need improvement. Having players and coaches bemoaning and criticising referees at the professional level trickles down to grassroots. Respect for the referee whether they are right or wrong is a core value of the game
@Leeeeroy Jenkins: but these reviews don’t lead to any appreciable improvement in the standard of officiating, so they appear to be redundant. There are some fantastic refs in the game, and at lower levels there’s less expectation for perfection. But let’s not pretend these people aren’t paid well at the top level. They wouldn’t be doing it otherwise. So fans and players alike should be given some acknowledgement or egregious errors. This sanctimonious nonsense that refs are above critique is ludicrous, they shouldn’t be abused, but there’s a big difference between criticism and abuse.
@Leeeeroy Jenkins:
The problem I see is that if there is an inconsistent decision is that a new directive, referee interpretation, mistake, unconscious bias…
Players, coaches & fans have no way of knowing.
All you have to do is look at the multiple reactions to Barret’s hit on Bundee’s head.
Let me also say, the inconsistency in that game wasn’t really from Busby but from the officiating team that were supporting him. TMO painfully trying to show a head clash that Busby said he couldn’t see.
Busby should have been frustrated with them and how a team is appointed. Chris probably meets them in the car park and his reputation relies on them.
Mac was wrong in the sense that Busby isn’t allowed to comment. It is not like he can say Mac gave away two penalties and knock on and it ruined
@Patrick Breen: This enough for you Patrick? URC to introduce both a video review programme and an ‘Ask the Ref’ feature on its website as a means of engaging with the rugby public in relation to contentious decisions by match officials.The URC intends to publish short video reviews examining the implementation of existing laws in hot-button incidents from the weekend’s games.Henning continued: “The second thing we’re going to do is we’re looking into our URC website to create ‘Ask the Ref’. And my idea around that is that once we’ve created that platform, we’ll appoint a duty ref every week and then people can send in their questions about laws, about a decision, about TMO, whatever. They can ask the ref and the duty ref will answer back on the website, and everyone then can read it.
@Kingshu: yes, that is a good place to start. The best remedy they had though was the captain’s challenge. But they decided to get rid of that.
@Patrick Breen: How do you know? Every year individual referees get better. After the last RWC there were quite a few retirements and all unions had to fill the void. The IRFU have struggled to get elite referees anywhere close to international standard and whenever we do, they are poked, prodded, abused and vilified by IRISH rugby “supporters”… so they quit. Sean Gallagher and Chris Busby are 2 that we know of who quit before they reached the height of their powers. Developing the knowledge and skill to deliver elite refereeing performances is a process that takes time. If we cut the process short after 3 or 4 years and start again with someone new you have to wait again… and again… and again.
@Patrick Breen: exactly Wilkins admitted as much. Didn’t he say they had repeatedly used the appropriate channels on numerous occasions only to be ignored and not even receive a response. It’s all well and good saying respect the officials even when they are wrong but when there is a trend and it’s not being addressed something drastic has to happen. On this occasion it was Mack. I think people forget that management and players jobs are on the line here based on results. Especially the likes of Connacht who are operating on an extremely tight budget. Many other teams in the same boat
@Paul Ennis: All URC unions struggle to produce refs only recently Scotland had a ref good enough to ref a 6 nations game for the first timein nearly 20 years, Italy and Wales are struggling, and even SA. Of the 12 referees at the last WC the URC produced 2, (One Irish, One SA). Nigel Owens was rated best in the world, but in his early career there were a few dodgy decisions and poor games. Even later there were some who didn’t rate him. Refs simplify can’t win, and will the laws are that there will always be a section of fans that are unhappy.
@Paul Ennis: I absolutely dispute that refs improve year on year. I would say my main evidence is anecdotal, where I just perceive the officiating as getting worse rather than better, largely down to TMOs mistakes in many instances, paired with unhelpful tinkering by World Rugby with the laws. I also feel that the URC has poorer officiating than we typically see at international of EPCR level either.
I think the TMO is a major cause of difficulties. In one of Ulster’s early home match this season they scored a try with a move from their own 22 – took the conversion and the opposition had taken the restart kick which was fielded by Ulster and at that point the ref stopped the game to review a marginal forward pass called by the TMO! Also, TMO referrals are killing game momentum and atmosphere at matches as fans shuffle for 3-4 minutes waiting for reviews. In my view – more power to referees and less for TMO’s!
@Keno: this is the thing that kills me. I actually can’t understand why people are in such a rush to get the game done. Often TMO referrals build tension as good as anything else. A few pundits hopped on this, and now every Tom, Dick and Harry thinks the game is too slow. It has lead to rushed TMO decisions, less referrals and less replays. Making clear decisions is he priority, and putting an onus on refs for anything other than making the correct decisions is putting undue burden on them. It is not the refs/TMOs job from keeping easily distracted people from losing interest.
@Patrick Breen: I’m talking about reasonable time frames. Extending an 80 minute game into a 100 minute game can’t be a good thing. As for TMO referrals building tension far from it it builds frustration especially when added to resetting of scrums!
@Keno: The TMO would have got a slap on the wrist for that one. 1. It was more than 3 phases (as far as I can remember), 2. It wasn’t clear and obvious and 3. Nobody was looking for it. However… be careful what you wish for. The TMO was introduced because we were sick of the referee missing something on the field.
@Keno: But TMO decisions don’t extend the game by 20 mins, there are unavoidable stoppages that are not TMO related, plus resets and things like that and still most game hover around the 2 hour mark including half time. To me if you don’t have the time, just catch the highlights instead. Then on the building of tension, particularly for a try/no try call, if that doesn’t build tension I don’t really no what does. Now I’m not calling for them to artificially exploit this, but in scenarios where it’s tight and there’s genunie doubt, it always gets the chat going in the ground or the pub and gives us time to digest it too. I always feel that the stop/start nature of rugby is a feature not a bug. 7′s might be more for you by the sound of things.
Ok enough of this stuff …can we get the weekend going with a champions cup roundup ?
@Stuart: Montpellier v Lions. Depending on side Montpellier put out, Lions mipe be good value at 4/1
@Kingshu: lions have sent half their Currie cup side so very unlikely .lions will target dragons at home next week instead so should get to the knockouts ..bulls have sent a B side north this week too so their CC is over. Was really hoping sharks were fully loaded tomorrow with eszebeth , am, fassi,esterhuizen back but not to be ..Toulouse will be too strong…stormers are starting to get players back from injuries so should beat sale sharks
@Stuart: is the CC side not mostly the Lions side anyway? Bulls sending weak team is no surprise, Jake White was infamous for sending out weak sides in the HCup when at Montpellier so no surprise he’s doing same at Bulls again this year. Guess like some he values getting into it and money for that but money for later rounds doesnt compensate effort. His teams really do devalue the HCup.
@Kingshu: lions have rotated heavily for this match , there’s about 12 of the 23 who are not normally in the match day squad .ie top side…yes pity about the bulls . I find it disappointing
@Stuart: as do their fans
@Stuart: SA teams should be removed from
CC cup fully. They treat the competition , supporters and opposition with disdain with half arsed selections that have no consistency. The logistics of travel for clubs who do respect the competition makes this a waste of time for all. All this talk about respect for refs ….. maybe treating a competition seriously in all games should be mandatory also?
My prediction: wins for Leinster, Connacht and Munster. Leicester will have too much for Ulster.
@Keno: I think Ulster will beat Leicester. Munster and Leinster could come a cropper
@Keno: Wins for Glasgow, stormers, Bordeaux , Toulouse , sarries , Northampton , leicester , castres, Toulon, Leinster , Bristol, bath …
@Paul Ennis: My double is Sarries -5 at 9/4 and Ulster +15 at about evens.
@Justin Robinson: I have never placed a better in my life so I don’t really understand what you have bet on
@Paul Ennis: * a bet
@Paul Ennis: its 2 bets (double), first bet is Scarcens to win by 5 points or more if that comes in the money (9/4 = £2.25 for every pound bet) automatically goes on the second bet which is Ulster to finish within 15 points of tigers, (ie win or lose by 15 or less is ok, if lose by 16 points or more the bet is a loss) [at evens is 1/1, every £ on get a £] if neither or only one result happens the whole bet is a loss, if both happen will get back £6.5 for every pound bet, ie £10 bet on this double will return £65.
@Kingshu: have to win by 6 or more when its minus 5
I know from bad experience !!!
@Joe O’Connell: sorry yeah, 5 point would be a handicap draw, 6 points or more. Hopefully that doesn’t confuse things lol
What is a suspended fine and does it knock on to player remuneration ?