Rugby videos of tackles, tries, funny incidents and more: Corey Flynn and Liam Messam tussle sorts itself out

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Corey Flynn and Liam Messam tussle sorts itself out

This is an incident from the Crusaders vs Chiefs match that had been talked about last week, but not shown yet so before it becomes too ancient, here it is for those of you who were keen to see what happened.

You saw a great clip that featured an act of good sportsmanship last week, with Corey Flynn being involved in helping out an opposition player after he was knocked out and in a bad state on the floor. Well, this is what happened later in the match.

Crusaders hooker, Flynn, somehow managed to catch Liam Messam in the face with his boot after tackling him. Messam took exception to it, and dished out the punishment in the way that many of the older visitors on the site may be able to relate to.

Describing the incident afterwards, Flynn said that he heard a roar coming from Messam, who was obviously in pain after taking the full brunt of a boot to the face.

"I heard him yelling and then sort of clawing up me, so I knew something was coming," Flynn recalled with a grin. "That was why I covered up. But we had a yarn afterwards and I apologised.

"When he told me what happened, I can understand why he arced up over it because I probably would have done the same. It was a little wee tussle, but we had a cuddle-up after it, so it was fine. It was footy, mate, just footy," he said.

The incident, which Flynn insists was an accident, was investigated by the citing commissioner but later dismissed, possibly for the reason that they sorted it out among themselves.

On a side note, this year is obviously huge for Rugbydump with the World Cup coming up in a few months time. We're close to releasing a new, improved version of the site, but time and effort is needed to finish that off. Please be patient if because of that you notice that site updates aren't quite what you're used to over the next few weeks. Thanks in advance!

Time: 02:09

I love a good yarn to sort things out.

Maybe the IRB should have a yarn or two now and then.

By Dozzy_X, at April 28, 2011 11:36 pm
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By No.7, at April 28, 2011 11:58 pm
yarn and a cuddle afterwards.. lol good to see that at the end of the game, they can just be civilised about it. thats why i love this game.. have a punch up then hugs.. lmao

By Anonymous, at April 29, 2011 12:58 am
all that blood boil, summed up after the fact as

just a game o footy bru!
classic Kiwi easygoing mentality

on the other hand, messing with Liam Messam is usually not a good idea.

By Ian, at April 29, 2011 4:22 am
Whats the point of showing that video, stuff like that happens almost every game

By ElTigre, at April 29, 2011 9:31 am
@Dozzy_X, couldn't agree more.

ElTigre, some of us like to see examples of good sportsmanship in the midst of citings, gougings, cheap punches and idiots dropping the ball because they want to celebrate, before or while scoring.

I think showing only the exceptions can cause some confusion amongst new rugby followers or people who have never played the game, so a bit of "typical" behaviour can be healthy to see every now and then.

It's not like the site is covered with it though, so hardly a reason to complain.

By I hate ppl who write "First!", at April 29, 2011 9:44 am
It's absolutely ridiculous players get cited for losing control in a tackle when this is not punished. Personally I reckon this is of a more serious nature however I think the right decision was made on this occasion.
Here's a little plan I have devised - each team after a match can refer things to the IRB, instead of the IRB finding problems where no-one else sees anything wrong. That way only situations where one player is clearly at fault would be dealt with and situations such as this would be dealt with in a gentleman's way on the pitch.
Can anyone see a flaw in my plan?

By Citing Commissioner, at April 29, 2011 9:56 am
sadd

By asdfasf, at April 29, 2011 3:11 pm
Citing Commisioner, I disagree with you wholeheartedly. There is nothing in this. This is a great example of a heated moment that the guys sorted out themselves. Neither one of these players deserve to be cited. Play went on and they got back into it.

Your idea is that teams rat eachother out to the league after the game? That's the most UNrugby thing I have ever heard. What self-respecting player runs crying to the citing board? Well maybe a backline player, but still!

By letthemplay, at April 29, 2011 3:19 pm
Kiwi's can't get cited. FACT.

By Anonymous, at April 29, 2011 3:50 pm
@letthemplay
if you read what I said I didn't say he should get cited, what I said what he was more deserving of a citing than much of what we see the IRB dish out a long holiday for.
I think that if clubs 'rat' on each other as opposed to the IRB looking for things it would maybe let the IRB see what the clubs and fans actually want - if you were in charge of a club would you rat on people for a fight like this? No, because your player would also get cited. Would you rat of a player for eye gouging yours? Yes, because it's completely unacceptable and all the public would support you. Would you rat on a player for a "tip tackle"? Probably not because you don't want your club to get the reputation of being a load of pussies...

By Citing Commissioner, at April 29, 2011 4:47 pm
Citing Comm --
I've got to disagree too.

You would inevitably end up with different countries value systems pitting themselves against each other. One country might cite the other for a cynical late hit. That same country might just consider that some argy-bargy that should be settled with some productive boots at the next ruck.

For better or worse, having a single citing committee is the least-worst solution. That said, they seem terribly inconsistent.

By cheyanqui, at April 29, 2011 7:22 pm
Would have to vote against the "rat" system myself. It's inevitable that more money is going to pour into the game and so the interest in getting key players banned may rise.
Also once a team rats another one out, then the fans would have no problem getting their own back at the first possible chance.

I'm Irish, and remember the somewhat drawn-out O'Driscoll affair, could you imagine what would have happened to Mealamu and Umaga if their fate were in our hands at that moment in time?

I think citings and rulings should be as impartial as possibile, I agree it's the least worst rather than best solution at the moment, but think that the problem is not the system, rather the people running it. As cheyanqui said, they're just too inconsistant.

By I hate ppl who write "First!", at April 29, 2011 7:35 pm
Im with the rest of you...

Although there are large inconsistencies with the IRB *COUGH* MCCAW!!!!!!!!!!!!! *COUGH* o r just generally if im not going to be an ass, they are still the best option. Otherwise you will have even more inconsistencies.

As others have said, it will turn into a 'win a game by getting the opposition key player banned' kind of game rather than actually winning it with your skill you'll encourage the other team to lose the game...

AND with that you'll end up with huge inconsistencies.. one player being cited for nothing in one match but getting away with murder in the next match, and it doesnt solve the inconsistent bans...

By Anonymous, at April 29, 2011 8:26 pm
obviously the clubs don't splash out their own 8 weeks ban on each other, I meant (but apparently poorly explained myself) that the clubs refer the incidents to the IRB Nazis or whoever does it at the moment. That way they would presumably never be able to get their hands on either or these players because neither club would refer the other as they'd be scared of their own players being cited.

By Citing Commissioner, at April 29, 2011 8:31 pm
meh, it'll only turn out worse... this scrap is nothing and no little scrap like this should ever be cited...

By Anonymous, at April 29, 2011 9:59 pm
Of course its just a little afters that they had. Nothing in it, because its 2 Kiwis - throw in a Saffa and you have a full blown international court injunction, whereby said Saffa is hanged, drawn and quartered for sheer barbarianism.

By codescalpel, at May 01, 2011 12:06 am
Poor Saffas who moan about how nobody else ever gets cited and international rugby is all just one big conspiracy against SA and all that rubbish. This pathetic stuff comes up on rugby sites all the time and unfortunately this one's no exception. I don't mean all SA fans, just the ones who feel so persecuted all the time. Get real, grow up and have a bit of pride.

By Colombo, at May 01, 2011 5:40 am
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By codescalpel, at May 01, 2011 10:38 pm
I don't need to grow up or get any pride. But I do want consistency in the law, its interpretation, and its implementation. There are plenty of people out there who think its tough to sort out on the field issues with a punch or two. They are the same people who cry blue murder when their own players cop a head but or shoulder charge. If you're a Kiwi and you think its OK for Kiwis to punch each other during games, then don't come whining when Bakkies head-buts you for holding him back when he's chasing a kick. I think its very easy and pretty lame to forgive your own players for everything they do, but point fingers when players from other teams do it to you, and I think some Kiwis and some Ozzies do that.

By codescalpel, at May 01, 2011 11:13 pm
Fuck me Anrowa... you sure you arent french?!?

As a Lions supporter I find your bitching hilarious, you want consistency?! then why the F*ck didnt you guys recommend Burger got a REAL ban for fingering Fitzgeralds eyes?

Ah right, because when you ARE ACTUALLY in the wrong you do all you can to weasel out of it!

By Anonymous, at May 02, 2011 12:38 am
Haha. I thought Burgers eye gouge was disgusting and embarrassing for SA rugby. If he got banned for longer I would have been pissed off, but he would have deserved it. In fact he should have got a red card, but the ref bottled it because it was so early in the game.

I think punching, head-butting or any other off the ball stupidity (like biting and kicking) should never be allowed in the game. I'm for zero tolerance, none of this "there was nothing in it" bullsh** You throw a punch, yellow - end of. Doesn't matter if you don't connect, doesn't matter if you've never punched someone, doesn't matter if you were provoked. If you have zero tolerance then everyone gets the same treatment every time (on the field at least.) The citing system is a screw up, and I can't see how it will ever be an even playing field for anyone.

If you like punching people and think its fun - go do boxing. I don't think I've seen Sonny Bill throw a punch yet, and he likes to box.
If you want to hurt someone, tackle them hard legally - there are plenty of examples of tackles and ruck clearouts that are intimidating and legal on this site.

By codescalpel, at May 02, 2011 10:11 am