Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Rugby World Cup 2011: Wales considered cheating - Gatland

Wales coach Warren Gatland has admitted he thought about asking one of his forwards to fake an injury during their World Cup semi-final defeat by France.

Prop Adam Jones went off injured after eight minutes and a knock to another prop would have led to uncontested scrums where neither team can push.


That would have helped Wales whose pack was reduced to seven men following the dismissal of flanker Sam Warburton.
"We discussed it but morally I decided it was not right," said Gatland.
"We had already lost Adam Jones and we discussed in the box: did we fake an injury to one of our props to go to uncontested scrums?

"We could have easily done that in the first 25-30 minutes of the game.
"But in the spirit of the game, in the spirit of a World Cup semi-finals, I didn't think that was the fairest or the right thing to do."

And Gatland said he believed referee Alain Rolland's decision to send off Warburton on 18 minutes for his tip tackle on France wing Vincent Clerc was not in the spirit of such a crucial game either.
Wales lost a tight semi-final 9-8 and now face Australia in a third-place play-off match on Friday without captain Warburton, who has been banned for three weeks.

"I honestly believe Alain Rolland made the wrong decision. I think the right decision was a yellow card.
"In the terms of the rules and the regulations, he is perfectly entitled to give a red card - but every game is different.
"You have got to take into account the circumstances of the situation, the intent. And I think in that situation, with his experience and the role he was given, that a yellow card was the right decision to make.
"In the letter of the law, there are a number of decisions referees can make.

"I just thought on that occasion, given the significance of a World Cup semi-final, that to give a yellow card would have been appropriate.

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