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Unpunished Premiership eye-gouge 'a lot worse' than Paul Willemse incident claims Blackett

Paul Willemse /Getty

Wasps boss Lee Blackett admits it is a “hard one to take” that Newcastle wing Mateo Carreras was not spotted allegedly gouging wing Josh Bassett and believes it was worse than the offence which saw French lock Paul Willemse sent off against Wales.

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Although Wasps wing Bassett complained about the incident during their win over Newcastle at Kingston Park on Friday, it was not referred to the television match official and no action was taken. As yet, there is no indication that retrospective action is being considered.

Blackett addressed the incident today in the wake of Willemse’s sending off for gouging Welsh prop Wyn Jones and said: “I struggle with the amount of time they had for that not to be picked up live. The first time I saw it (played back) was in a BT interview and it is thrown on me and I was quite reserved. Josh Bassett claimed he spoke to the assistant referees and mentioned it a couple of times and its not looked at. I find that a bit of a hard one take especially as we are all about protecting our players.

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Ferris talks to Jim on The Offload:

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Ferris talks to Jim on The Offload:

“The French incident was completely different and it is hard to know what he (Carreras) was thinking against us but one looks a lot worse than the other for me.”

The incident was spotted by the BT Sports team at the game with former England international Austin Healey saying: “We can see exactly what you’ve done with your middle finger. You’ve had a little scratch there. Now that is naughty. It’s cheeky. That’s contact with the eye. People call it gouging.”

Blackett has Paolo Odogwu back in camp after 11 weeks away with England during which he did not gain a first cap. The Wasps coach is hoping the win can recapture the form that saw him included in the England squad shortly after Italy showed interest in him. Blackett added: “If his confidence has been affected – and I don’t think it has – we will do our best to pick him up.

“He will come back hungry having learned a few things and I imagine he is a little frustrated and he wants to get out there and I hope 11 weeks without a game hasn’t taken anything away from the form he showed before he went away.

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“Franco Smith (Italy coach) hasn’t be on but he probably should do!”

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S
SK 52 minutes ago
What is the future of rugby in 2025?

Set pieces are important and the way teams use them is a great indication of how they play the game. No team is showcasing their revolution more than the Springboks. This year they have mauled less and primarily in the attacking third. Otherwise they have tended to set like they are going to maul and then play around the corner or shove the ball out the back. They arent also hitting the crash ball carrier constantly but instead they are choosing to use their width or a big carrying forward in wider areas. While their maul is varied the scrum is still a blunt instrument winning penalties before the backs have a go. Some teams have chosen to blunt their set piece game for more control. The All Blacks are kicking more penalties and are using their powerful scrum as an attacking tool choosing that set piece as an attacking weapon. Their willingness to maul more and in different positions is also becoming more prominent. The French continue to play conservative rugby off the set piece using their big bruisers frequently. The set piece is used differently by different teams. Different teams play different ways and can be successful regardless. They can win games with little territory and possession or smash teams with plenty of both. The game of rugby is for all types and sizes and thats true in the modern era. I hope that administrators keep it that way and dont go further towards a Rugby League style situation. Some administrators are of the opinion that rugby is too slow and needs to be sped up. Why not rather empower teams to choose how they want to play and create a framework that favours neither size nor agility. That favours neither slow tempo play or rock n roll rugby. Create a game that favour both and challenge teams to execute their plans. If World Rugby can create a game like that then it will be the ultimate winner.

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J
JW 6 hours ago
'Let's not sugarcoat it': Former All Black's urgent call to protect eligibility rules

Yep, no one knows what will happen. Thing is I think (this is me arguing a point here not a random debate with this one) they're better off trialing it now in a controlled environment than waiting to open it up in a knee jerk style reaction to a crumbling organtization and team. They can always stop it again.


The principle idea is that why would players leave just because the door is ajar?


BBBR decides to go but is not good enough to retain the jersey after doing it. NZ no longer need to do what I suggest by paying him to get back upto speed. That is solely a concept of a body that needs to do what I call pick and stick wth players. NZR can't hold onto everyone so they have to choose their BBBRs and if that player comes back from a sabbatical under par it's a priority to get him upto speed as fast as possible because half of his competition has been let go overseas because they can't hold onto them all. Changing eligibility removes that dilemma, if a BBBR isn't playing well you can be assured that someone else is (well the idea is that you can be more assured than if you only selected from domestic players).


So if someone decides they want to go overseas, they better do it with an org than is going to help improve them, otherwise theyre still basically as ineligible as if they would have been scorning a NZ Super side that would have given them the best chance to be an All Black.

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