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Wed 1 Apr 2015 | 02:51
Midweek Madness - Player throws second ball into ruck to halt promising attack

9
Comments

In the TOP14 match between Bordeaux Begles and LA Rochelle at the weekend, a blatant piece of cheating (or a brilliant piece depending on which way you look at it) occurred when La Rochelle lock Leandro Cedaro used a second ball to stop a Bordeaux attack in its tracks.

Bordeaux had just been awarded a penalty 10 metres out with Begles' Julien Rey running back to collect the ball which had just been kicked away. Another ball is thrown onto the pitch and the home side promptly take a quick tap.

You then see Rey's kicked ball bobble into view a couple of phases later, and when Jefferson Poirot picks and goes from a ruck, Cedaro throws the ball towards him.

The referee immediately blows but whatever excuse Cedaro gives him, he gets away with it as the referee simply tells him it was stupid, and Begles are awarded a scrum.

They score swiftly after but still end up losing the game, 21-22.

What do we think? Was Cedaro's extra ball an attempt at disrupting the attack? Or was he just trying to throw the ball away and it inadvertently looked suspicious? 

credit: boucherie-ovalie.org

Posted By: Grant Constable

9 Comments

  • akared
    10:18 AM 02/04/2015

    The ref realised he fucked up by letting the quick tap with another ball on the field, that's why he didn't penalize the player.

  • bloblabli
    11:16 PM 01/04/2015

    did you read what sidestepper wrote? he is freaking spot on mate. The player could have picked the ball up and start an other game within the game instead of what he just got the ref's attention. I think the correct decision was made and it wasn't a professional foul actually he was very aware of the law!

  • jamesey999
    8:36 PM 01/04/2015

    What was in his head? I'm betting that as a kid he liked to pull the wings off flies to see what happened.

  • drg
    7:54 PM 01/04/2015

    Sidestepper has got the actions that lead up to the incident correct.

    It was clearly an obvious 'cheating' incident, if he had been trying to throw the ball away it would have been off to his left, or behind him... a la shortest distance.... However I think what lead up to the incident itself should be taken into consideration before any punishments are handed out, for instance the Bordeaux player did add the kicked away ball to the mix in the first place and that was sort of in the way already. I think if the whole way to make it 'fair' would be to actually go back to where the original penalty was and start again with the penalty there.

  • 7:17 PM 01/04/2015

    Is there a law saying a quick penalty tap has to be with the same ball? I know lineouts need to be taken with the same and not interfered with by an non-player. Come to think of it, what about restarts also - same ball required? Come on boffin refs, answer me!

  • sidestepper
    6:41 PM 01/04/2015

    The ball is turned over and kicked away by a La Rochelle player (0:25). Ref blows for a penalty. Bordeaux player runs back for the ball (0:32). Another ball is thrown onto the field (0:34) and a quick tap is taken with the wrong ball (0:36). A ball is seen bouncing across the bottom of the screen (0:41) presumably kicked by the Bordeaux player who retreated to get it. Then gets thrown by Cedaro towards Poirot.

    The quick tap was taken with the wrong ball so the ref shouldn't have let the game continue. Also I don't think the original ball ever left the field of play and with two balls on the field that's another reason to not let play continue. Anything more than a scrum advantage awarded to Bordeaux would have been absolutely criminal.

  • kevini89
    5:35 PM 01/04/2015

    he deserves a punishment from his club, thats an anti sport behavior.

  • danknapp
    4:34 PM 01/04/2015

    It's just so stupid. I don't see why he didn't get a yellow card. He was very lucky.

  • 4:25 PM 01/04/2015

    should have been a yellow, as comical as it was, it's still a professional foul

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