As for your headbutt analogy. Exactly, you should be punished in accordance with the governing bodies rules. a headbutt is a headbutt. At the end of the day it serves the same purpose whether it causes permanent damage or not is neither here nor there. However, you could sue the player in a civil suit for medical costs etc.

Go to my link at post 35 and read 38 to see my point. Surely an off the ball barge to the back of a player is not a criminal offence. Yes, in this case he got injured which is unfortunate, but it happens in every game of rugby and football and other contact sports. How about Zidane’s headbutt in the WC final? Elbows to the face in football? For those type of incidents the sporting laws are more than adequate and a criminal case does not need to be filed IMO.

As for the player being in a brace. Any doctor will tell you that you do more injury to the spine if you do not treat it immediately in situ. The fact that the medics allowed the player to get up and walk off the field means that they:

a: Assessed him on the field and did not see any possible serious injuries, therefore saw no need to stabilize him as is required by their own guidelines (therefore I see it as media spin.)

or

b: They failed in their duties as medical practitioners and therefore should be held accountable for any damage to his spine seeing that they are trained professionals who should have known that any suspected head or spinal injury should be stabilized without moving the patient.

The fact that he is flying home with a brace could be to prevent putting excessive pressure on his spine while flying due to pressure changes or due to him having to sit upright for an extended period. I have had to do it myself a few times (and this only for suspected whiplash) therefore the brace means nothing.

Anyway, nice debating with an intelligent poster. Cheers mate.

Excellent Post Loki.

Nail………..head…………Bang.

And the guy is on his way back to US in a neck-brace for further assessment in States. How can you just presume it is “spin”?

Anyhow, I am all for the ethos and the spiriti and what happens on the field stays on the field, but that should not be seen as immunity.

My two cents GB. Have a good one.

‘This is Old Timers Classic Rugby………………………………………Not domestic CC’

Really? Where did that pearler come from? Read the link I sent you, seems it happens in New Zealand as well. Hey, you started it. I’m simply ‘returning serve’

‘Just last month Uenuku Porena Peita appeared in Taranga District Court, New Zealand, and pleaded guilty to assaulting Bay of Plenty player Simon Chisolm. Chisolm was knocked out during a premier grade match in July and spent two days in hospital with bruising to the brain.’ – but then again you knew this already.

Now before you accuse me of being anti AB, how about this for a gem.

‘After biting Sean Fitzpatrick’s ear: “For an 18-month suspension, I feel I probably should have torn it off. Then at least I could say, ‘Look, I’ve returned to South Africa with the guy’s ear.’” – Johan le Roux – now this chop needed some serious jail time.

Now compare these two incidents to a barge in the back…

The argument is not whether it was an act of cowardice (I think we can safely agree that it was), but whether it is a criminal offence to barge a player in the back while playing a game of rugby. If that is the case then we may as well stop playing rugby, football, hockey, or chess because all ‘off the ball’ indiscretions will get you in jail.

And please don’t fall for the spin that he has serious spinal injuries because he got up and walked off the field of play with the assistance of medical staff who attended to him. If he indeed sustained serious spinal injuries, he should be suing the medics who did not follow proper protocols when dealing with these kind of injuries.

They then reckon that this is the way to play and that’s wrong.

“Play hard, but play fair.”

No Cane, this happened DURING THE MATCH ON THE FIELD OF PLAY. “During the match, American flyhalf Leif Gibson, 34, sustained a back injury after Kempson allegedly ran into him from behind”

(http://sport.iafrica.com/news/827541.html)

And honestly, being run in to from behind!?!?!?!?!!? This happens in every dammn game I have watched all season long whereby opposition players are barged, charged or obstructed by the defending players. This frankly is a non issue.

@Taahirah-32:

Thanks for clearing it up. My point was that any sportsman will try and get one over his opponent. In rugby a shoulder charge and a rake across the back is seen as permissible within the criminal law. Meaning that although it is in breach of the sporting codes laws, it is not in fact a criminal act.

If this had happened after the game then definitely he should be charged with assault. But the fact that this happened during a game means that he should be sanctioned by the relevant sporting body, and NOT the legal system.

seems a little ott especially considering the injuries he sustained are not serious.

.

The argument you are trying to make is that the element of unlawfullness is missing, offering consent as a justification. In sport consent however only covers actions within the rules of the said sport, anything outside of it opens you up for possible criminal liability. Thus: A punch in rugby would constitute assault, not so in boxing.

Not having seen the Kempson-incident I can not really comment. The mere fact that it happened on the field of play does not exclude possible criminal liability, though.

“the onus is on the state to prove criminal intent.”

I haven’t seen the alleged assault,
but this is how it reads.

Robbie leaves the area of play, seeks out Gibson,
and then charges into his back, all 126.3 kilos of him

“Criminal intent”. Good enough for me.

This is Old Timers Classic Rugby………………………………………Not domestic CC.

Bloody joke.

I agree fully ultra.

No Tree Lady………………………………………….Bermuda.